Steve MacDonald

Steve is a long-time New Hampshire resident, award-winning blogger, and a member of the Board of Directors of The 603 Alliance. He is the owner of Grok Media LLC and the Managing Editor, Executive Editor, assistant editor, Editor, content curator, complaint department, Op-ed editor, gatekeeper (most likely to miss typos because he has no editor), and contributor at GraniteGrok.com. Steve is also a former board member of the Republican Liberty Caucus of New Hampshire, The Republican Volunteer Coalition, 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.

Obama Campaign Never Paid

September 26, 2018December 21, 2012 Steve MacDonald

dead beat Obama Campaign doesn't pay for local security — It’s Not just in NH That the Obama Dead Beats stiffed local taxpayers

According to this editorial, Obama never paid for security or other costs related to his campaign visits in New Hampshire.

In a response to this newspaper and a letter to Portsmouth, Obama campaign officials said they had no role in making security decisions, so the campaign should not be expected to pay. After employing that non-sequiter, the campaign directed local officials to the Secret Service, suggesting that federal taxpayers might help defray the burden placed on local taxpayers.

Remember, these are political campaign events. As I’ve pointed out before, refusing to pay for these forces local taxpayers to make an in-kind contribution to that campaign to cover the costs of partisan political activity. It is an argument that makes sense but that in the past was met by Obama supporters who demanded to know why I wasn’t bitching about Romney’s visits.

NHJournal – Maybe I jumped the Gun On the Importance of Spelling…

September 26, 2018December 20, 2012 Steve MacDonald

I may have been a bit premature when I titled my first Blog “NHJournal – Where Spelling Is More Important Than Integrity.”

Just for a refresher, Shawn Millerick thought it would be funny to point out how I left a letter out of his first name and misspelled Pat Hynes last name (My spell checker keeps trying to change it to Haynes by the way). Typos! -Going for the jugular. And I pointed out that I could fix the typos but that his lying to his readers, for what I can only assume was as a favor to the NH-GOP political establishment power-brokers, might not be so easy to fix. (And if he just did it for kicks and not the GOP would that be better or worse?)

While integrity is still an issue (now and forever) it turns out he has some other problems as well, and they are pretty damn funny considering. Pull quotes from Mr. Millerick’s piece, please…

On Tuesday, the New Hampshire chapter of Americans for Prosperity bestowed upon GraniteGrok’s Steve MacDonald the lofty title of ‘Blogger of the Month.’

Actually, the news release is dated the 17th, which was Monday, not Tuesday. Calendars were invented before 1925, right? It’s also a national award from AFPhq, reported through the New Hampshire chapter if you must know.

And I did mention spelling…

Harry Reid – “Guns Bring Us Together”

September 26, 2018December 20, 2012 Steve MacDonald

Here is Mr. Reid waxing nostalgic on the days when he carried a gun everywhere he went and on how shooting sports brought families together.

And on the jump, Diane Feinstein for self defense – before she evolved.

Sober Talk From New Hampshire Democrats on Assault Weapons?

September 26, 2018December 20, 2012 Steve MacDonald

The Union Leader has an editorial out this morning that quotes some members of New Hampshire Democrat leadership as tip-toeing around the current wave of rhetoric and discussion on what to do about guns. Instead, they are asking what are probably important questions about mental health services but I suspect that their interest here is … Read more

NH Journal – What They Have in Common With Liberals

September 26, 2018December 20, 2012 Steve MacDonald

The only person besides Shawn Millerick of NHJournal to try and hang the misogynist, sexist tag on me is Harrell Kirstein. When Harrell tried it he was the communications Zombie for the New Hampshire Democrat party. You know what else Millerick has in common with Democrats?

Michigan Right To Work…Voters Set The Stage

September 26, 2018December 19, 2012 Steve MacDonald

Lee Stranahan has a nice Graphic that gives us a view of how voters in Michigan sent a signal to their state representatives.

In a state Obama won easily by 9 points, a ballot measure to make collective barging a constitutional right in that state failed by 15 points. Stranhan suggests that the confluence of these to sets of votes–as contradictory as they might seem–was a message to legislators that there was room for Right to Work in Michigan.

An Assault Weapon or Not An Assault Weapon…That is the Question

September 26, 2018December 19, 2012 Steve MacDonald

I’m no expert on firearms but do a fair job of knowing how government works and this “we need to do something” thing plays right into my wheelhouse.

That “something” is the desire of legislators to appear to be capable of managing our lives in every meaningful way, so when a nut plotted, planned and then literally executed his massacre, the people who always feel the need to act like what they do matters got to work.

Long story short, the professional left sees the Newtown killings as a way to re-enact the Clinton Assault weapons ban.

We here at the Grok have already thrown down a mountain of text on the event and the reaction, but we’ve not yet (to my knowledge) actually remarked on the ban itself, and more specifically, on how it would not have changed anything.

NHJournal – Where Spelling Is More Important Than Integrity

September 26, 2018December 19, 2012 Steve MacDonald

I have to admit that Shawn Millerick got me good when he said I couldn’t spell. Actually, the problem is that I am not terribly adept at typing and I try to squeeze out posts before work and after the kids go to bed. I’m not always thorough. But on a positive note, I don’t make up meetings out of thin air to smear my political opponents.

Millerick would also like you to believe that I am insulting a female candidate (Jennifer Horn) when I use the word pimping. I apologize if I was unclear. I’m actually insulting him, NHJournal, and whoever it is in the GOP establishment that is yanking his pull string.

The Ten-Piece McNugent

September 26, 2018December 18, 2012 Steve MacDonald

I often have passing thoughts for which there is no suitable blog in which to fit them. This is one of those. Introducing the Ten Piece McNugent. Made from the freshest venison, elk, caribou, mountain lion, wild turkey, or any number of other beasts. There’s really no way to know. The only guarantee we can … Read more

A Conservative Solution to The Public School Lunch Circular Firing Squad

September 26, 2018December 18, 2012 Steve MacDonald

Federal mandates made school lunches cost more and forced foods into them most kids don’t care for so the Derry School District Lunch program School lunches dont have to be expensive trach no one wants is pondering why overall receipts are down.

“The food service numbers are significantly less on student sales,” Simard said. She said the food services department is still working to determine the cause and whether it is the result of new meal plans and food choices required under state and federal reimbursement guidelines.

She knows why she is just being diplomatic. The Feds have made lunch cost more. They have made the cost of providing lunch cost more. They have simultaneously required foods that a majority of the target hot lunch customer base does not enjoy while making foods they do less accessible or unavailable. The result is more cost for less benefit.

Univ RI Professor Erik Loonis- Oops, Sorry, He Spells it Loomis

September 26, 2018December 18, 2012 Steve MacDonald

There is so much hate and vulgarity spewing from the Twitter account of University or Rhode Island professor Erik Loomis that I am reluctant to post any of it here. But I have no objection to you going here to see for yourself.

Let me just prepare you. University professor. Anti second amendment. Newtown. Hate. Anger. Vulgarity. Beaten to death. NRA. Wayne La Pierre. Head on a stick. etc, etc.

Commenter Jason provided the phone number to the College “Please contact the president of the college here: 401-874-2444.”

It sounds like a lot of people have been calling. No reason to stop now.

Someone Else Now A Solid Second For NH-GOP Chairman

September 26, 2018December 17, 2012 Steve MacDonald

What a difference five days makes. Last tuesday we reported on a poll running at the political fiction section of the NH Blogosphere (also known as NH Journal), in which the establishment candidate for NH-GOP chairman, Jennifer Horn was running in third place behind Andrew Hemingway and ‘Someone Else.’

A few hours later we updated that story with a report of an alert on Horn’s Facebook page about the poll that had pushed her into second but that surge seems to have vanished. ‘Someone Else’ is now leading Jen Horn by 11 points.

Tom Brady (Not that one) Can’t Be On The NH-GOP State Committee

September 26, 2018December 17, 2012 Steve MacDonald

Actually, the other Tom Brady can’t be an NH-GOP voting Committee member either but let us not get distracted.

NH-GOP Bylaws, Article 1, section 4A:

A. Any registered Republican who, at the same time joins or allows his or her name to be used in support of a political committee or a defined group of individuals, that in title or effect is intended to be understood by the public to be a committee or group comprised in whole or in part of members of the Republican Party endorsing a candidate for elected office from another political party, when there is a candidate nominated by the Republican Party for that office, shall be disqualified during the then present and the next biennium from holding an office of the State Committee or any County or City Committee, from being a member of the Executive Committee and from being a member of the State Committee.

So why can’t Republican County Commissioner Tom Brady be a voting member of the Republican State Committee?

Jeanne Shaheen Wants to Ban Guns

September 26, 2018December 17, 2012 Steve MacDonald

Tragedy always attracts a parade of progressive mountebanks, anxious to peddle their faulty wares as cures for what ails us, and US Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D- Utopia) is no different. In response to the heinous criminal acts perpetrated in Newtown, Connecticut she observed that…

“We need a comprehensive approach that includes improving access to mental health services, better enforcement of our current laws, and we need to get deadly assault weapons off our streets.”

Whatever you do, do not ask Senator Shaheen to describe an ‘Assault weapon’ because I am reasonably certain her talking points palm card did not include that.

Is The NH House Ready for More Darth Norelli?

September 26, 2018December 15, 2012 Steve MacDonald

Democrat NH House speaker Norelli - Darth Norelli — What? This isn’t the bipartisanship you were looking for?

Lord Vader brooked no failure and punishment was swift and final. New Hampshire Democrat Terie Norelli, as either Majority or Minority leader, has never been one to tolerate dissent either. And while she’s not (to our knowledge) ever strangled anyone with the force, she has strangled their careers, used inter-caucus bullying and intimidation to bring them around or shut them down, ignored their ideas, refused to teach them, and even driven them from office…and that’s just the Democrats.

So anyone who ever thought Democrat leadership–all the way up to Maggie Hassan–was serious about this “can’t we all get along” here’s a smile and a coke crap the minute the microphones are turned off, has another thing coming.