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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.

Notable Quote – Kathryn Jean Lopez

President Obama, 5 days before ascending his throne Presidency: "We are five days from fundamentally transforming the United States of America!" ********** On reacting to Judge Walker’s ruling that California voters,  in voting to keep traditional marriage intact (along with a majority of other states in this Union) was unconstitutional with this pronouncement: “Gender no … Read more

So, Obama says he won’t give the keys back to the Republicans? Seems like Joe America is going to TAKE them away from him!

Well, this ain’t warmin’ the cockles of the Lefty hearts: the results of a poll done by uber-Dem James Carville.

Obama isn’t liking this phrase anymore: "It’s the economy, stupid!"

(H/T: Hot Air) 

Nor are these data points going to help the Progressive partying spirit (polling from Pajamas Media):

54% – General public supporting TEA Party Movement

31% – self-identified DEMOCRATS supporting the TEA Party Movement

****

Given your current knowledge of the Tea Party Movement and their positions on the issues, would you say that you strongly support, somewhat support, somewhat oppose or strongly oppose the Tea Party Movement?

27% Strongly support
27% Somewhat support
13% Somewhat oppose
28% Strongly oppose
5% Not sure

Have you publicly shown support for the Tea Party Movement by speaking openly about it or is your support for the Tea Party Movement a private matter?

36% You publicly support the Tea Party Movement
52% You support the Tea Party Movement privately
12% Not sure

Do you consider yourself…

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A phoney TEA Party Mantle – the story continues – some email responses.

So that the other Groksters don’t get on my case (again) about dragging this out, and perhaps save you all some time in having to read the details (especially Pat Hynes – he’s such a busy dude):

Well, I got a couple more emails – from friends.  One in particular REALLY bothered me – it turned out that Pat Hynes WAS being a bully – he was using Chicago tactics on MY friend, intimating that he could end up involved legally with me because of this post.

In other words, by putting out the spectre of my friend having to get a lawyer and being brought to court, Pat Hynes hoped that to use my friendship with this person against me. 

For only political gain for his client.

Essentially, Pat Hynes is trying to shut me up about talking about Sean Mahoney’s false claim to be a big part of the TEA Party here in NH.  Seems that me saying that Sean Mahoney is trying to ride the TEA Party coattails has bothered them both mightily.

I may also add, a whole bunch of others too – Sean Mahoney should be expecting to be asked some really tough questions now – more than a few folks are not amused.

I ended up with my last post this way:

>> It is in your best interest.

Am I to take that as a threat, Pat?  You’ve now crossed a line you should not have; you are now making it personal; you REALLY want to go there?????

Apparently, he did.  To recap from my earlier post:

  • The Prequel – April 15, 2010 – TEA Party event in Portsmouth.
  • The Reminder: (7/16) Local paper article – "presser" (maybe 2 reporters?)
  • The Call: (7/19) Call to the campaign office.
  • The Email: (7/19) The "clarifier" email
  • The "YOU’RE IN THE WRONG" Emails

And they continued – a number of them on the 19th, 20th, and 21st (and he said I was the one doing the harrassing?) all demanding that I call him (one even called me "a foll" [sic])

  • Calls with short endings

Let’s put this up (posted 7/21 just before I left for Las Vegas) as a reminder – I was losing patience with Pat Hynes:

I could have repeated this image a couple of times to more accurately depict the history, but once was enough (you get the idea).

And yes, I will add this "No, I am not recording this; it is against NH law to record someone without their permission."

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So, Sean Mahoney’s online guy, Pat Hynes, is NOT among the powerful?

Am I done?  Maybe, maybe not…we’ll see.  In the mean time, I had emailed Patrick Hynes this:

I’m just a little bitty blogger with a small blog in small little NH.  You’re a national powerhouse who the monied powerful and powerful-wannabees are looking to hire; I’m not even the dot at the end of your sentence.

His response?

Your powerhouse rhetoric is just silly.
Well, according to this story in Politico, it certainly seems that I'm right - Patrick Hynes used to be a nationally rated blogger - now he's a national level political operative:

Not only is the blogosphere changing how voters consume information, it’s also creating new jobs in politics, policy and online communications consulting. Although there is still no formal job description for “blogger relations” staffers, these part communications, part research, part online political organizing specialists are a growing industry in the political world.

“It’s becoming as common to have someone managing communications with bloggers as it was to have a press secretary 10 years ago,” said Patrick Hynes, founder and president of Hynes Communications, a social media public affairs agency.

Now, you have to be good, to have a rep, to be included in a Politico story.  I think this buttresses my argument.  Think I'm kidding?  If you are in the same story as Michelle Malkin, you're top notch.

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Drat – I was born too early, I guess….

I would LOVE to be hale and hearty enough to try this – REALLY!  But reality is sinking in that my mortal coil may get unsprung permanently if I tried.  From Boing Boing: Remember – all politics all the time makes for a very dreary place…

Here’s another thing Bill Binne has said: “I’d just call a lawyer” – I guess he did!

Update:Well, THAT was quick! I just got polled – a lengthy one – by Kelly’s campaign via the Terrence Group out of Texas (I believe). Certainly, Brooks wasted NO time in getting this done!

"You want a legal question, I call a lawyer. I’m not a lawyer." – I guess this is a general purpose line from Mr. Binnie – he’s actually done so and it is turning out to be SUCH a hoot!  Here’s Cornerstone’s new ad:

Drew Cline’s blog broke the story and I nearly bust a gut reading the "official" Letter from Mr. Binnie’s lawyer he posted up.  It scolds the Ayotte campaign for colluding with Cornerstone (Really? Cornerstone is a "shadowy organization"?  Somebody isn’t getting out much lately, are they?) on a "smear" of poor Mr. Binnie as he crows about these "demonstrated links".  Yeah, that amount of proof and a buck will get me a donut.

You know something? The real problem is that Mr. Binnie is rather upset that somebody decided to simply quote him. To challenge him. And I guess he has found his own words to be upsetting, less than of sterling quality in that it spoils his narrative.

Of course, when he said "I’d just call a lawyer", he was talking about a totally different topic (er, the Constitution?). It certainly seemed at the time that Mr. Binnie did NOT like being challenged for something HE said. Let me put up this reminder:

At the time, I heard the phrase "thin skinned" from the audience behind me at this micro-meltdown; after all, it really was an unforced error – NO one put him on the spot, twisted his words, or took him out of context concerning this most basic Constitutional issue.  Yet, a mild challenge from the Moderator gave us the first temper tantrum of the silly season.

Seems like this may be an on-going issue and that he has NOT learned the "Internet Lesson" – speak and act like you are…

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A simple practical example of the same service performed by the private sector vs the public sector

Coming home from San Diego, I ran into a very simple, but powerful example of the difference of how the same service was done by a private sector entity vs a public sector service: a bus.

Avis: taking the bus to the Terminal after dropping off the rental car.

Avis Bus

Not a new one, but in very good condition.  It was clean to the point of being spotless, maintenance was absolutely up to date from a cosmetic standpoint: the carpeting on the baggage holders was in good repair

  • the  seat cushions were looking clean and well cared for
  • the floor had no stains
  • and I only saw a couple of small instances of paint chipping. 

Oh yeah, and the glass was clean too and it "smelled" clean.

Having to go between Terminal 2 and Terminal 1, I took public sector "Red Bus"

First impression was of the driver.  My knee buckled and I had a problem trying to hoist my rolling bag up the front steps – he just sat there and looked as if I was a mere inconvenience – I got more of a response from one of the passengers for assistance than him.  Frankly, take all of the "good" items from the Avis bus, and turn them 180 and that pretty much sums it up.

Oh, and it needed a tuneup too (running rather roughly).

Why the difference?  Sad sack there could have cared less…

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WMUR 9 here in NH – Committment 2010

For those outside of NH, WMUR is pretty much the ONLY TV over-the-air broadcast station of note, so it gets watched.  They have their version of the obligatory political series that all stations run during this election season; they call theirs Committment 2010. Tonite, they had the four Republican Gubernatorial candidates on Jack Kimball John … Read more

I love slow motion stuff!

The egg on the mouse trap was cool and the fingers on the martial artist – yikes! (H/T: Boing Boing)

Notes on the 17th Amendment

The 17th Amendment – the one that shifted the election of Senators from the State Legislators (a key part of holding the power of Federal Government in check vis-a-vis that of the States) was flogged by Progressives at the turn of the last century as being "anti-cronyism".  Why shouldn’t the public vote on Senators?

Much to the delight of Progressives, it passed – IMHO, it set the stage to vastly increase the power of the Federal government.  Why?  The "power governor" (like the speed governor in a car) that kept the States in the game that put the States’ rights and interests first was gone (watch the videos here and here from a 912er).  Obamacare – would it have passed?    Boortz has more thoughts (and a recap of the NH CD-1 Candidates thoughts after the jump):

Can you imagine how our own battle with illegal immigration might be different if the Senators still represented state governments? Illegals cost state governments tens of billions of dollars. The children of illegals have to be educated and their emergency medical needs must be tended to. Then there is the crime costs associated with illegals. Here are just a few estimates of the cost of illegal immigration to some individual states:

    * Florida: At least $2 billion a year.
    * California: Over $10 billion a year.
    * Kansas: (yes … Kansas) $442 million a year.

And then there’s Arizona … the cost there is over $1.3 billion a year. Arizona tries to do something to solve the problem. It’s clear that the federal government will do nothing to control illegal immigration so long as The Community Organizer is in office … so the Arizona legislature steps up. As soon as Arizona passes its law many other states reveal plans to do the same. The Obama steps up and orders the Justice Department to file a lawsuit against Arizona … to sue Arizona for its attempt to enforce laws that the federal government refuses to support. How might this have all been different if Arizona, New Mexico and all of the other states considering passing laws to stem the invasion of illegals had official representation in Washington in the person of two Senators each?

Then there’s the issue of unfunded mandates. Medicaid…

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Who SAYS stuff isn’t built like it used to be?

OK, this is not turning out to be the "serious post" night that I thought it would be…so, have some fun with this.  Just stay with it – the good stuff starts in at about the 52 second mark: (H/T: Boing Boing)

It isn’t JUST about the money…

From this  Conservative’s view, this seems to fit well; from Kevin Landrigan’s column of last Sunday, this caught my eye:

Binnie is socially moderate on abortion rights and related issues and if those dominate, he could get turned a shooting star that burns out fast, Scala continued.

"In some ways, Binnie is a throwback to the country club Republicans who ran New Hampshire for generations, very wealthy Northeasterners who worried about the bottom line but didn’t care much about social issues," Scala continued.

"Ayotte could win this race if she turns Binnie into a country club Republican and she convinces voters that she’s a Sam’s Club Republican because that’s where the mainstream of the party is."

On one level of reality, Binnie can’t shake the country club tag.

He owns one.

Like I said, I’ve been out on biz travel, so I’m still paying catch up here and will be most of the week (there are a NUMBER of things I want to post up on but have not had the chance to do so – yet).  This was one – part of the separation between the candidates.

If there is a bigger split within the Republican Party right now, it is the faction with the money (aka "The Country Clubbers") and those more concerned with First Principles (the Conservatives).  I have no problem with Binnie and his money – we ALL should be so skilled to have earned what he has (and while luck can play a role, Luck helps those that are prepared for its visit).  Given his biz success, he (and Jim Bender) have the absolute right to tout their accomplishments.

But if you listen to the majority of the …

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A phoney TEA Party Mantle – the story continues

To recap from my earlier post:

  • The Prequel – April 15, 2010 – TEA Party event in Portsmouth.
  • The Reminder: (7/16) Local paper article – "presser" (maybe 2 reporters?)
  • The Call: (7/19) Call to the campaign office.
  • The Email: (7/19) Having been effectively called a shill, I sent a "clarifier" email – it’s not about the campaign; it IS about making an unsubstantiated claim about being a mover and shaker in the TEA Party movement – and no back up for that claim.  And yes, I respond to a "challenge".

and I ended the post with this:

I never heard back from the staffer – but I certainly did from the "friend"!  It brought back memories of the McCain campaign ("McCain seemed tired…") – for the calls started up again.  

And then it got interesting….

Indeed.  Having been on a blogger call for McCain, my write up of that call included that line.  I thought nothing of it – look, McCain wasn’t a spring chicken than (or now) but had a lot more energy than most people a third his age; that said, sooner or later with the schedule candidates keep, ya gonna have a "power outage" sooner or later.  Well, given the calls that came in ALMOST immediately (who knew that the campaign was gonna monitor the ‘Grok??):

"Why did you say that?  What gave you that impression? He wasn’t tired – he was fine; WHAT ARE YOU TRYING TO DO?"

Whoa! Get that last part? I was immediately at fault – fix it.  At the time, I thought "OK, perhaps I did get it wrong"…but was surprised at the vociferous nature of the immediate pushback.  I filed it for future notation.

Glad I did; the attitude returned – with a vengeance!

  • The "YOU’RE IN THE WRONG" Emails

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Don’t worry, Democrat Progressives will figure out a way to protest this too

A great letter from Dan Boudreaux (Cafe Hayek) about the Left’s "selective" outrage on inequality: Like Michael Smith, I don’t suffer from the “Progressive” itch for income equality (Letters, Aug. 3).  Not only does achievement of such “equality” require the state to treat people unequally, obsession with income equality also reflects a Scrooge-like fetish for … Read more

Notable Quote – Coyote Blogger

I understand that this is exactly what the Left is shooting for – an environment where the competent have no advantage over the incompetent.  If employers are resorting to FICO scores, it just demonstrates how all the other reasonable avenues of obtaining information have been closed to them. The only saving grace in this country … Read more

Choices – by YOU and ME, or by Big Govt?

Professor Arthur Brooks started out as a liberal teaching at Syracuse University – and started to change his views when his data that formed the core of his book ""Who Really Cares-The Surprising Truth About Compassionate Conservatism"" showed that the liberal mantra of "we care for the poor – conservatives are the cold hearted ones!" turned out to have flaws and hidden problems (normally taken as "conventional wisdom") whose results hindered rather than helped.  In fact, he was one of our first guests on Meet The New Press back on December 2, 2006:

MEET THE NEW PRESS

Hosted by Granite Grokers Doug Lambert and Skip Murphy, along with Patrick Hynes of AnkleBitingPundits. We have an excellent lineup scheduled for today’s program…
 

=====================================================================

Guest: author Arthur Brooks
Conservative values make them more charitable than the libs

As always (and if Skip escapes Chicago) the podcasts will be ready within a day or so, and available on the GraniteGrok podcast page here.

The podcast with Dr. Brooks is here:

But I digress.  Dr. Brooks has a new book out that a lot of people are talking about due to the topic AND the current political climate "The Battle: How the Fight between Free Enterprise and Big Government Will Shape America’s Future"

He was interviewed by Reason’s Nick Gillespie on this:

The longer version of the interview (about an hour) is after the jump…

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