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.

One Thought In Passing

Are the people running the unions stupid?  Not the rank and file, but the leadership.  These people are selling salt as flour to the due payers while pushing the cities and states into a corner.  What do I mean?  Look at the pension problem.  In New Jersey Chris Cristie has to fight tooth and nail … Read more

Right To Ignorance

  The passage of the New and Improved New Hampshire Right To Know Law (as yet unsigned by Governor Lynch) redefines "public body" in a way that makes it more difficult for taxpayer to observe the inner workings of their government. An individual executive or administrative officer of a political subdivision shall not constitute a … Read more

McDonald v City of Chicago

  For those interested in this case a friend from Illinois directed me to a link loaded with details.  I did not have time to spend browsing but it includes briefs, and the history of the case so far.  If you want to learn more this is the place to go. Chicagoguncase.com

Does Lynch Have A Primary Fight In 2010?

Rumor has it that John Lynch could have a primary challenger named Tim Robertson (D-Keene). Robertson has been kicking around the NH House for years warming a seat over at the Criminal Justice and Public Safety commission where his primary contribution has been making friends in the party and sponsoring bills that are inexpedient to legislate.  Robertson’s … Read more

Seth Marshall Discovers Property Taxes

  Hat tip out of the gate to fellow NHI front pager Richard Olsen Jr. for this fine bit or wordsmithing on Nashua Rep Seth Marshall’s brief letter to the Nashua Telegraph about a pamphlet on the burden of property taxes.  Mr. Marshall (it appears) feels blessed as if the contents of this pamphlet revealed the answer … Read more

Wheel Of Misfortune

I’ve got mixed emotions about the variable rooms and meals tax (R&M).  On one hand it is the microcosm of federalism.  Every town would be the master of its own demise.  Durham would be like New York State, Keene might be like Michigan.  On the other, starting at 9% is way too high to begin … Read more

My Precious

In the words of Mary Jane Wallner (D-Concord), "“Many aspects of this bill are painful, (but) it is the responsible action to take,” to avoid painfully deep budget cuts later, she said.""  MJ is quoted by this morning’s Union Leader on the passage of SB 450, the Bob The Builder Budget repair Bill.  SB 450 … Read more

Why Liberals Really Hate Arizona

The left’s spleen venting on Arizona’s new law regarding illegal immigration makes perfect sense. Arizona, a sovereign state of the union, has for years (decades) left most of the problems associated with a porous border in the hands of the federal government. 

Some of those problems included drug trafficking, people trafficking, and other criminal activates. From the violation of property rights all the way up to murder (not to mention the whole illegal part of illegal immigration) this has cost Arizona lives, resources, and business.  It’s gotten so bad that Phoenix is reportedly second only to Mexico City internationally for kidnapping and murder.

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Shat Bill (SB) 450

SB 450, the omnibus, mix and match, fix and patch, how do we cover all that unnecessary spending democrats had to have, budgetpalooza bill, is up for a vote today.  But it poses an intentional problem for Republicans.  It would repeal the LLC tax, but while adding another boat load of taxes, fees, and if … Read more

Hassanosaurus Rex

State Senator Maggie Hassan has taken the bit on the issue of corporate speech and written an amendment to HB1459 that would shove her jackbooted hoof down the throat of any corporation that might want to make a public comment on any matter…   “”Advocating in favor or against any New Hampshire statute, legislation that … Read more

Bordering On Insanity

From the Patriot Post.us Bordering on Insanity If you cross the North Korean border illegally you get 12 years hard labor. If you cross the Iranian border illegally you are detained indefinitely. If you cross the Afghan border illegally, you get shot. If you cross the Saudi Arabian border illegally you will be jailed. If … Read more

HODE$

Is Paul Hodes an addict feigning recovery when it comes to big money from big places?  No.  He’s just pretending because it’s an election year.  But he’s happy to pay lip service to the faerie tale that Republicans are the party of big bankers, big business, and big money.  First up, this lovely graphic from … Read more

More Out Of State Money To NH Democrats

Nothing says “out of state money” like EMILY’s List (EL) a single issue ideological PAC interested in only one thing—women who will support all abortion, all the time, on your dime.  And could you have guessed that EMILY’s List loves New Hampshire democrats?  Would you be more surprised at the qualifications these liberal women must … Read more

Serendipity

  When I bought my wife a box or Good Earth Vanilla Chai Tea (one of her mothers day gifts) I was not expecting anything other than tea.  After lunch I offered her a cup and much to my surprise the first bag I removed from the box–yes, it was a tea bag–had the following quote … Read more

Want To Buy A Bridge?

Some liberal talking heads are already toeing the narrative that Elena Kagan is a little bit conservative.  That she could (possibly) shift the court to the right.  Really?  Hardly. This narrative is deployed to impress upon the disinterested, distracted, or dumbfounded that any opposition by the right to her nomination is evidence of just how right wing … Read more

Does Palin Still Owe McCain?

I have to wonder if Mrs. Palin Still feels an obligation to John McCain, and if it’s going to be a problem for her conservative supporters in the future.  NRO’s "The Corner" grabbed a message of Sarah’s facebook page in which she endorses Carly Fiorina for the California Republican Primary to challenge Senator Barbara Boxer.  Carly has … Read more

The Peoples Republic of Hodesistan

  In the People’s Republic of Hodesistan (PRH) unemployment always hovers around 9-10%.  That’s the new normal.  And it has to be.  No matter how many bail outs and prop ups and incentives Mr. Hodes conceives to redistribute your earnings, there is never enough of other peoples money.  As the tax dollar pool from which his … Read more

Unemployment is 9.9%

This months Bureau of labor statistics (BLS)report issued every month on the first Friday (at about 8:30 am), reads like there is a positive trend afoot, except that 15.3 million Americans (and some unidentified number of illegal immigrants) are not employed.  They make no mention of unemployed illegals.  I just tossed that in because it will piss off … Read more

The Suns Also Set

  Here’s an appropriate letter to the editor of a Phoenix Newspaper regarding Suns Owner Robert Sarver’s approach to illegal immigration law.   What if I sneaked into a Suns game? May. 6, 2010 12:00 AM So, Mr. Sarver, if I can sneak into a Phoenix Suns game without getting stopped and occupy a seat … Read more

“Chinese Curse”

“May you live in interesting times.” That’s the old curse. And wow, are we doing just that. These aren’t just interesting times, they’re downright fascinating…and verging on grotesque.

I follow political and cultural trends. These days odd patterns are emerging…heading off the charts, in fact.

For instance, on April 21, 2010 Las Vegas casino zillionaire Steve Wynn sent the political class into a tizzy. He said something baaaad. “It’s just talk,” said a University of Nevada professor. “Symbolically it would…send a really bad message about Las Vegas.” The congresswoman from Las Vegas, a Democrat, called it “A devastating blow to southern Nevada and our economy.” The mayor of Las Vegas said he hopes Wynn “isn’t serious.” Nevada governor Jim Gibbons intends to “reach out” to Wynn, and Senator Harry Reid, the Senate majority liar—errr…leader—said “I’m not going to get into a dispute with Mr. Wynn…but I will say that taxes are at an all-time low.” (LOL! See? Grotesque!)

What exactly did this guy Wynn say? Not much, really. Just that he’s thinking about moving his corporate headquarters from Las Vegas to a more capitalist location, with more economic freedom and dynamism. That is, to Macau, a special administrative zone in China, where he just opened a $600 million expansion of one of his existing casinos.

As Wynn said in a Bloomberg News interview, “The governmental policies in the United States of America are a damper, a wet blanket….They retard investment; they retard job formation; they retard the creation of a better life for the citizens in spite of the rhetoric of the president.” Well gee, Steve, why don’t you tell us what you really think. He did: “The economic outlook in the United States, the policies of this administration, which do not favor job formation, do not encourage investment at all.”

So instead of “Viva Las Vegas,” it may be “Zai jian, Las Vegas” (Goodbye Las Vegas in Chinese)

But that’s not the bad part. The truly weird is that…the UNV professor can’t figure it out; the mayor of Las Vegas can’t figure it out; a member of Congress can’t figure it out; the governor of Nevada can’t figure it out; and the majority leader of the United States Senate can’t figure it out. Only Steve Wynn and everyone else in the…

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