Steve MacDonald

Steve is a long-time New Hampshire resident, an award-winning blogger, and a member of the Board of Directors of The 603 Alliance and the National Heritage Center for Constitutional Studies. He is the owner of Grok Media LLC and the Managing Editor, Executive Editor, assistant editor, Editor, content curator, and more (yes, there's more) at GraniteGrok.com. Steve is also a former board member of the Republican Liberty Caucus of New Hampshire, the Republican Volunteer Coalition, and has worked for or with many state and local campaigns and grassroots groups, and is a past contributor to the Franklin Center for Public Policy.

Choir Practice

CNHTListening to twenty or so people give political speeches in succession may well be worse than being water-boarded. Listening to twenty or so political speeches in an air-conditioned room with close to 300 people who (more or less) are on board with just about everything that is likely to be said at that kind of event is choir practice. But having that kind of access to that many candidates for three hours is priceless.

That is the CNHT annual picnic, in a nutshell–plus an all you can eat buffet of picnic fare, with P.J. Rourke as a guest speaker right in the middle of it all. From noon to three today, at the VFW hall in Hillsborough New Hampshire, the 12th annual Coalition of New Hampshire Taxpayers picnic attracted dozens of candidates for every level of office and hundreds of people who were looking for an opportunity to meet and talk to the candidates who want to represent them. It’s like a House party for every candidate all at once, and if you missed it you missed a chance to get personal attention in a very important election year.

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Massachusetts Goes After DOMA

  The Union leader is reporting this morning that a US judge in Boston has found DOMA, the Federal Defense of Marriage Act, to be unconstitutional on the grounds that it prevents the state from administering federal aid to gay married couples.  His ruling only affects Massachusetts but clearly has broader implications. I both agree … Read more

Why Did They Donate To Paul Hodes?

  Why would an engineering firm from Colorado employed to help clean up and rebuild after Hurricane Katrina be donating money to Paul Hodes 2010 campaign?  MWH America is, in their own words, a global leader in wet infrastructure, but MWH has recently been charged with poor invoicing practices and even overcharging the city of … Read more

The House Passed It, Now Look At What’s In It

I Brought Hash-Brownies for LaterI hope Rath Young Pignatelli, Shaheen and Gordon, and all the other leftward Lawyerly types are prepared for a shot of mandatory diversity.  Those democrat congressmen from New Hampshire they like to donate to—so the government can make more law for lawyers to lawyer over—just passed more than a financial regulations bill when they voted for the Dodd-Frank financial regulation bill.  They passed mandatory race and gender diversity requirements for everyone who touches anything near the financial industry.

 

Buried deep inside the forest clearing pages lay provisions mandating that all financial institutions, investment banking firms, mortgage banking firms, asset management firms, brokers, dealers, financial services entities, underwriters, accountants, investment consultants and providers of legal services (for any and all of the above) who have or do business with the federal government or for firms doing business with the federal government on government business, must meet race and gender employment ratios.

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ONE! Singular Deception…

The ONE campaign is back in New Hampshire and looking for fresh souls to trap in its twisted web of deception.  While liberals are always ripe for a sob story, ONE is always looking for unsuspecting so-called conservatives and Republicans to call friends.  And the GOP is easy prey.  After years of being framed by the media as cold-hearted war mongers who spend long days smoking cigars and oppressing the world’s poor for the gain of their corporate paymasters, nothing looks better to them than being seen with a group like ONE campaign.

Unless of course you’ve seen the Black Widow waiting at the center of the ONE web.

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Hidey-Hodes

The Hodes campaign has made its priorities clear.  I’m referring to the attack ads on Republican primary candidate Kelly Ayotte, whom they have for whatever reason anointed as the primary winner.   What does this tell us about Paul Hodes?  Nothing we did not already know. He intends to distort the facts in pursuit of … Read more

John Lynch Goes Gay (Sort Of)

(Note: This was originally posted on May 28th at NH Insider. It is being re-posted here as an encore presentation, by request.)

 

John Lynch Goes Gay (Sort Of)

The Ray and Kathy Show has this gag they do all the time where they complain about outside money or special interests on the right affecting local elections.  It’s a serious gas because everyone knows it’s actually a projection upon others of their own involvement with deep-pocketed outside interests with which they then exert pressure upon the local worker bees doing the Yeoman’s work at hiding their radical left wing agenda.  But they think it works so we try to play along.   Case in point: Governor John “Liar” Lynch was recently taken to task for saying one thing and doing another on the not uncontroversial subject of same sex marriage.  Lynch flip flopped and plenty of us asked if someone put the thumb screws on our diminutive chief executive. 

No, no.  Lynch is his own man concerned about equality and civil rights, Blah blah blah. 

Enter into the debate this article by Lou Chibbaro Jr. from The Washington Blade, which bills itself as "the lgbtq community resource."  The article is titled, “Rare Peek behind closed doors of secret gay donor confab.”  In the article Lou Chibbaro jr reveals for us the internal happenings at an event on May 15th to May 16th (just two weeks ago).  It’s was..

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Harry Reid’s Innocent Victims

They are making hay and BS sandwiches over at Boo-Hoo Hampshire, this time about the latest unemployment benefits stalemate.   Dean Barker–the Boo Hoo Guru–had begun by waxing on the CBS news coverage on the latest unemployment extension debate when he decided to lament (or perhaps invent) 30 years of GOP policy crushing the little guy, and how even now they are somehow still pulling the levers to crush them even more.  No I’m serious. 

But the best part is the “Boo-Hoo” hook.

The innocent victims, Mr. and Ms. Joe Taxpayer, won’t get what they need to stay solvent.  And nearly one of ten of them can’t find work.  And that’s not counting the vast underemployed.

The innocent victims!  Well what about that?

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Progressivism for Educators

From the Things we missed File     Monday-Tuesday – June 28-29, 2010 HSCC will host its annual spring Teacher Workshop on The Progressive Era & World War I in the Monadnock Region from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. for any educator who wishes to expand their understanding of the Progressive Era and World War … Read more

Calvin Coolidge, July 4th, 1926

In 1926 President Calvin Coolidge gave a speech, an independence day address.  It has just come to may attention, and  I enjoyed it so much I felt obliged to share it.

We meet to celebrate the birthday of America. The coming of a new life always excites our interest. Although we know in the case of the individual that it has been an infinite repetition reaching back beyond our vision, that only makes it the more wonderful. But how our interest and wonder increase when we behold the miracle of the birth of a new nation. It is to pay our tribute of reverence and respect to those who participated in such a mighty event that we annually observe the fourth day of July. Whatever may have been the impression created by the news which went out from this city on that summer day in 1776, there can be no doubt as to the estimate which is now placed upon it. At the end of 150 years the four corners of the earth unite in coming to Philadelphia as to a holy shrine in grateful acknowledgment of a service so great, which a few inspired men here rendered to humanity, that it is still the preeminent support of free government throughout the world.

 

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FIREFIGHT OVER AT THE RLCNH CORRAL! TOO MUCH INFO!

Everyone, if you’re not a member of the main email list of the Republican Liberty Caucus of New Hampshire, and you’re a libertarian, a conservative or a libertarian-conservative political activist, you may owe it to yourself to go over to the list and sign up. Right now there’s a helluva battle going on, and its implications ripple out far enough that I want a wider audience to understand. (Full Disclosure: Dan McGuire is a friend of mine, and one of the best libertarian-conservative political activists coming up through the ranks of the GOP in New Hampshire. I’m going to help him in any way possible to get elected to the state house this year.)


Dan McGuire

 to RLCNH
 
I would like to suggest that the RLCNH list be reserved for matters of NH politics.  Lately it has been spammed many times a day by Tim (and others) with irrelevant stuff.  Here’s a list:

  16039 Gun control that really works! Gun control that really works! Tim Condon Offlinesuggesto Jun 23, 2010
  16040 The Republican Party is about to GROW UP The Republican Party is about to GROW UP Tim Condon Offlinesuggesto Jun 23, 2010
  16046 It’s those bothersome Christians causing trouble again It’s those bothersome Christians causing trouble again Tim Condon Offlinesuggesto Jun 23, 2010
  16058 INSANE GOVERNMENT SPENDING CRETINS! INSANE GOVERNMENT SPENDING CRETINS! Tim Condon Offlinesuggesto Jun 29, 2010
  16063 Fwd: Military 101 — A Liberal Guide to the Military Fwd: Military 101 — A Liberal Guide to the Military Tim Condon Offlinesuggest
o		 Jun 29, 2010
  16081 The lawlessness of the socialists The lawlessness of the socialists Tim Condon Offlinesuggesto Jul 1, 2010
  16083 We Must All Vote Democratic this November…. We Must All Vote Democratic this November…. Tim Condon Offlinesuggesto Jul 1, 2010
  16084 They want THIS PERSON on the U.S. Supreme Court? They want THIS PERSON on the U.S. Supreme Court? Tim Condon Offlinesuggesto Jul 1, 2010
  16094 The Titanic, ramming speed, and what to do about America The Titanic, ramming speed, and what to do about America Tim Condon Offlinesuggesto Jul 2, 2010
  16097 Obama handles the oil spill… Obama handles the oil spill… Tim Condon Offlinesuggesto Jul 2, 2010
Fortunately, Tim didn’t post during PorcFest and we got a break.  I’m guilty of this kind of thing on occasion, but this level is just ridiculous.  
Dan
 
 
Yikes!!!

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Democrats “Deem” Next Years Budget In Late Night Vote

  According to Human Events late last night the Democrat majority Congress attached a document which ‘Deemed as passed’ a 1.12 trillion dollar budget.  The document was attached to the War supplemental bill and approved on partisan lines (despite bi-partisan objection) 215-210. It will come as no surprise to New Hampshire residents that Both Paul … Read more

Carol Is Still Batting .980

Carol “98%” Shea Porter surprised several people when she offered to co-sponsor HR 1207, the Audit the Fed Resolution.  The bill, sponsored by Republican Ron Paul would require an audit of the not so independent “independent” central bank. 

The hobgoblins who run the Fed were not interested in an audit for obvious reasons.  As the manipulators of monetary policy they were and are responsible for trying to manage the boom bust cycle or more appropriately (and more likely) causing it. But they were still part of the government, so for Carol to step up and make even a token gesture was unexpected. 

Or was it? 

 

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The End Of The Road

Hat in hand, governor Lynch is looking for the feds to bail him out of the accumulated disaster of his administration. On the matter of extending federal unemployment benefits (from this morning’s Union Leader) the governor was emphatic.

Failure to do so (to extend federal benefits) will jeopardize the economic progress we’ve been making, Lynch said, warning that roughly 20,000 people in the state could run out of benefits in the next four months. Next week alone, 938 people will lose their benefits, he said.

Progress?

You have so mismanaged your stewardship of the state budget, been so beholden to years of irresponsible legislative spending and grossly inaccurate revenue projections, that we are incapable of finding even a few million dollars anywhere in our own state of New Hampshire to resolve any problem without further flights of legislative fancy or begging an even more bankrupt federal government for another handout.

You put us here John Lynch. You created this monster.

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Swett Turns A Phrase

 

In a recent email to supporters Katrina Swett puts a new spin on the thousand pound gorilla in the room.  The gorilla is the economy and K-Swett appears to have looked to the east for inspiration.  She also spelled the word “lose” wrong.  Figure out where yourself I have a blog to write. 

The new turn of phrase, and we could be seeing this rebranding from all the debt-o-crats in the very near future because they to spin things, is to ‘rebalance the economy.’  “Rebalance the economy?”  (As in less government more freedom?)  Not exactly.  In Ms. Swett’s application she would like to rebalance the economy so that it works for us not just big corporations.  Oh, see it’s those big corporations again.    

Funny thing but this is exactly how the UK’s liberal democrats are using it.  They’ve had this plan to use the government to rebalance the relationship between the people and small and big business in the hope that quaint little shops will compete better and who knows, perhaps even sprout up like mushrooms on Britain’s debt ridden ass.  The means of such fairness appear to be to tax the big shops more.  Rebalancing ala Obama’s spread the wealth around a bit?

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Perspective

All you need to put the lefts complaints of a GOP “smear campaign” against Carol Shea-Porter’s Graduation propaganda-mailing to High School seniors or the question of how she got those addresses from local school districts can be summed up as follows.   If Carol Shea-Porter was (god help us) a Republican, Kathy Sullivan would have … Read more

Drop Dead Fed

In the most recent issue of National Review Gary Wolfram, Professors of Economics and Public Policy at Hillsdale College wrote this in regard to Mises and Hayek’s Austrian business-cycle theory.

 

""This theory emphasizes the role of the interest rate in bringing together the plans of producers and consumers. The interest rate is the price of loanable funds — in effect, the price of money — and, like the price of any good or service, it gives producers information about consumers’ behavior and the actions of other producers. For example, if consumers wish to save — to put their money in banks, which lend it out — they will increase the supply of loanable funds, putting downward pressure on the interest rate. Producers can then borrow that money cheaply and invest in capital goods such as machinery, factories, and housing — which they can use to create goods for consumers to buy in the future with the money they have saved. Thus do producers and consumers arrive at the equilibrium interest rate, which matches producers’ plans to invest in capital goods with consumers’ desire to save.

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You Must Claim To Have Balance Daniel-san

State Senator Maggie "the red" Hassan had a puff piece in the New Hampshire Sunday News to defend the NH democrats “balanced Budget.”  We can tell right away that Ms. Hassan is going to take us on a fanciful journey because of her opening clause.  “Scarce resources make for difficult budgets…”  It is from this … Read more

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