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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.

Announcement: Cornerstone Action Steward of the Family

Speaking of Cornerstone, GraniteGrok has been invited: Actually, click HERE to register online ($60 per person) We will be live streaming and recording, per usual. My thanks to Tom for doing the legwork on this event!

Live Blogging – Cornerstone Research 10th Anniversary Dinner – Herman Cain and Rick Santorum are keynote speakers

GraniteGrok is here at the 10th Annual Cornerstone dinner with keynote speakers: Herman Cain (radio host, syndicated columnist and former CEO of Godfather’s Pizza) & Rick Santorum (former US Senator, R-PA) Tom, Steve, and I are here – live stream is up at UStream and here (normal WiFi caveats apply).  Follow our tweets and our … Read more

And just so that the Hatin’ Dems won’t feel left out….

"you know how that sumbitch lies" … After all, hate is an all encompassing emotion.  But here’s ONE Democrat that is actually LAUGHING over it: That would be the DEMOCRAT Libby Mitchell, running to be Maine’s next Governor, LAUGHING at the idea of casting President Bush as a terrorist. Yeah.  Not exactly "that lovin’ feeling", … Read more

Notable Quote – NJ Gov. Chris Christie

Voters are willing to accept the political pain of deep cuts in government spending as long as they know the pain is being spread equally, Christie argued. It makes sense to shrink government in tough economic times, and politicians seem to be the last to get that message, he said. “We lost our way a … Read more

A note for the NH GOP – that would be you, Ryan Williams…

Filed under "Just Plain Annoying" Yessir, Ryan Williams, Communications Director of the NH GOP; read this one again.  Because you were a wee bit miffed and and a whole lotta uppity when you called me last Friday, I have a present for you… A NEW FRIDAY HUMOR post! It starts off like this: They didn’t … Read more

notable Quote – P.J. O’Rourke

On Conservatives and Libertarians: Well, I think that the general philosophical divide between Libertarians and conservatives is the conservatives tend to rely on tradition, sort of if it ain’t broke don’t fix it. And if it’s only a little broke, be careful of the fixing you do lest you make the problem worse. conservatives say … Read more

Bill Whittle on Small Government – and the hazards of the other type.

Bill Whittle – a treasure!  He used to blog (on his own) at Eject! Eject! Eject!.  Often, posts were irregular and oft times with long intervals between them.  And then he’d rip off a corker! Now at Pajamas Media, he’s bringing it to the small screen – on Small Government. He, too, believes in this: … Read more

A time before Big Government? Egads! Just HOW did people make it back then?

One of the biggest decisions we have in November is THE Proper Question: What kind of America do we wish to have?  We are faced on being on the Train of Socialism / Progressivism that Obama and the Democrats, as they sit in the Engineer’s seat, hand on the full open throttle, have us rocketing towards the trestle bridge of failure: What is the Proper Role of Government.

Statists / Socialists / Progressives (both Democrats and Republicans) cannot believe that returning to a time with lesser government is even workable.  They cannot accept that individuals can make their way in the world without the hand of Government showing them the way, helping them with their choices, or even making choices for them?  Charity and help, however, ALWAYS comes with THEIR strings attached.

The TEA Party / 9-12ers / Constitutionalists reject this notion as being not only "of the Nanny State" but as a complete repudiation of the Founders vision of private property, individual freedom, and free markets unfettered by Government interference.

After I wrote this, I rediscovered this article that outlined two anecdotes.  This was the second – which will send the former group absolutely stark raving crazy – sacrilege!:

The second story  is contained in the wonderful insight into an essentially pre-government world provided by the 11-year diary of Thomas Turner. He was a shopkeeper in the small village of East Hoathly, Sussex, outside modern day Brighton in England. His diary is circa 1750 and relates everyday life in a world we no longer comprehend.

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Notable Quote – Dr. Dan Benishek

The National Mall and surrounding monuments to great Americans and this nation’s honored war dead were left trashed. Yes, literally, and there are pictures proving  the disregard and callous treatment of treasured American monuments. Seeing this made me realize that this is exactly how progressive Democrats and their Socialist/Communist supporters see America: They don’t see … Read more

“Buy locally” – A plea in my local paper.

There was this article in one of my local papers (Laconia Citizen) from a local shopkeeper imploring the local residents to buy from local businesses:

If Lakes Region residents devoted only 10 percent of their shopping to local businesses, it would benefit not only the region, but themselves in the long run, an noted author and expert on local economies told an audience Wednesday….

Hamel explained that a big problem in the economy is people not spending locally, but rather at "big box chain stores," and buying on the Internet…

Hammel said that with large corporations building chain businesses, they are essentially "stealing from local economy" by making consumers think that their money is being spent locally when it isn’t. He said if people shopped just a little more at the local level, it can make a big difference…

…Local business owners Randy and Sue Bullerwell, who also started BIBA, own All My Life Jewelers and they said they were forced to close their second shop, String ‘Em Up Bead Shop, because they were losing business to the Internet and larger chain jewelry stores.

"We got sick and tired of people saying what they bought online," said Randy. "It wasn’t helping our businesses and it wasn’t helping the area."

"We had two businesses downtown and because people don’t shop locally, we have one now," said Sue.

The phrase "stealing from the local economy" really struck me – do local businesses have a right to claim a profit first from the local population before the "big box stores"?  If I spend at a Lowe’s or a Shaws, am I now participating in a "capitalist crime"? 

Last time I looked, commerce in our capitalistic society is a voluntary decision –  a price determines whether or not I shall buy an item or service  and a vendor will sell. It shows…

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Data point – what teachers really make as public sector workers

At least in Illinois – your state may vary, but I bet that it isn’t all that much variance. The average teacher in the state of Illinois makes $61,402. Illinois teachers work around 176 days, 300 minutes, or 5 hours, per day.  That’s just over 35 weeks per year.  On average, they make $348.88 per … Read more

I LIKED! this quip!

The Obama Administration: All the charm of Nixon and the effectiveness of Carter. Yup, it fits.  I’m done.

Woodrow Wilson – the Progressive Progenitor President

Although many also tout Teddy Roosevelt as being cut from the same cloth, most agree that Woodrow Wilson, an academic well immersed in the movement, was our first real Progressive President (from the NY Times, if you can believe it): Here is Wilson’s description of the Founders’ view  in his “New Freedom”: The ideal of … Read more

Oh Goody…”creeping inflation”

From the Business Insider: But trouble is looming. Commodities are heading up. Rents are heading up. And quietly capacity utilization is heading up. That means that the slack in the economy is disappearing, and as Morgan Stanley notes, a hike in the CPI can’t be far behind. When this happens, Bernanke will be in a … Read more

Interesting – how many can you count in the “Mission Accomplished” column?

AND ask yourself – how different is it from that of the Democrat Party Platform?  Sent to me by loyal reader John:

This is a list of communist goals to destabilize the United States, as presented to a Congressional hearing in 1963:

1. U.S. acceptance of coexistence as the only alternative to atomic war.

2. U.S. willingness to capitulate in preference to engaging in atomic war.

3. Develop the illusion that total disarmament [by] the United States would be a demonstration of moral strength.

4. Permit free trade between all nations regardless of Communist
affiliation and regardless of whether or not items could be used for war.

5. Extension of long-term loans to Russia and Soviet satellites.

6. Provide American aid to all nations regardless of Communist domination.

7. Grant recognition of Red China. Admission of Red China to the U.N.

8. Set up East and West Germany as separate states in spite of
Khrushchev’s promise in 1955 to settle the German question by free elections under supervision of the U.N.

9. Prolong the conferences to ban atomic tests because the United
States has agreed to suspend tests as long as negotiations are in
progress.

10. Allow all Soviet satellites individual representation in the U.N.

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