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.

Tweet of the Day – Week – Ever? on Unions Vs Right to Work?

Fellow Grokster(ette?) Susan Olsen dropped this into our email this morning.  No, not ‘the royal ‘Our’ as in the royal ‘we,’ as in ‘We are not amused.’  I mean “Our” as in our Grok group email.  Anyway, this hits it out of the park on Michigan and Right to Work, and the Unions and Democrats and Obama (oh, My!), or anyone for that matter,  squawking about benefits for those who accept the choice to not have to pay dues…

Union Benefits in a Right to Work state vs Govt benefits
This guy is officially Our hero.  I am embarrassed that We didn’t think of it first.

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Terie ‘Scrooge’ Norelli – Fires Staffer weeks Before Christmas

Incoming New Hampshire House speaker Terie Norelli (D- Grinch), is taking heat for her abrupt termination of longtime House receptionist Betty Lichty.  Betty was apparently hired by Norelli back in 2006 and has worn out her usefulness in the position.  Perhaps answering the phone for Speaker O’Brien for two years was more than Terie’s delicate … Read more

Notable Quotes: On Current NH-GOP Leadership

In my honest opinion the amalgam of  Establishment Republican Leadership in New Hampshire, which includes the shadow party “leadership” that makes the phone calls behind the scenes, decides whose turn it is, puts pressure on people to do their bidding or get out, and claims to control the money, are about as effective politically as … Read more

Michigan AFP Tent Truthers?

You’ve heard by now, I hope, that the American’s for Prosperity (AFP) Tent in Lansing, Michigan (State Capital), was knocked down and overrun by angry Union protesters–while some activists remained trapped underneath?   (You can find Grok Coverage on that and more  here, here, here, and here.) AFP was there on the front lines to educate and … Read more

Has Jeanne Shaheen Had A Come To Jesus Moment on Taxes?

Eighteen Democrat US Senators have sent a letter to Harry Reid requesting that the Medical Device tax portion of Obama-Care be delayed. The letter does not say it directly, preferring to dance around the issue, but it is obvious that these 18 Democrats, New Hampshire Senator Jeanne Shaheen among them, believe the Medical Device tax … Read more

The Source of Moralilty

This will make for interesting discussion.  Boston College’s Peter Kreeft, professor of philosophy, discusses the source of Morality for Prager U. Only five minutes…it goes by quick. http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=ApVYpBwXWLk   Hot Air

Update AFP -Michigan

Right to Work Coming Soon to Michigan
Right to Work Coming Soon… to Michigan!

Right to work Bills have passed both Houses of the Michigan State Legislature and the governor has already said he’d sign them into law.

Earlier today Tim Condon updated us with the video of union protesters knocking down the Americans for Prosperity tent in Lansing, trapping some activists under it.  It’s sad but none of us were surprised by this. Nor are we surprised by this from a recent email blast by Tim Phillips, President of Americans For Prosperity…

Right now, the Left—union bosses, special interest groups, and even President Obama himself—is ramping up pressure for him to not sign these necessary workers’ rights reforms.

Tim Phillips continues…

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Dots Progressives Can’t Connect?

It is not about state spending, Healthy states are about libertyEvery year United Health Foundation releases a report on America’s Health Rankings.  This is a state by state assessment, and every year New Hampshire is one of the healthiest places in the nation to live.  Last year we were ranked second, this year third, but always in the top three or four.

The two states that beat us are the two that always seem to, Vermont and Hawaii.  Hawaii was number one this year, Vermont number two.  And I was wondering why?  Was there a wide range of separation or just one or two core measures where the reported difference was so wide as to keep New Hampshire down?

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More Compensation and Job Growth In Right To Work States

Compensation RTW vs Forced Union - RTW states do better in both categoriesIf union thugs are not beating on you, they are lying to you (about job growth and wage growth), and so is your President.  But here’s the truth…

According to Michigan’s Mackinac Center, using data taken from the Bureau of Economic Analysis and Bureau of Labor Statistics, private-sector, inflation-adjusted employee compensation in right-to-work states increased by 12% between 2001 and 2011 compared with just 3% over the same period in forced-unionization states.

There’s more…

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Did Parental Notification in New Hampshire Lower the Teen ‘Birth’ Rate?

Teenage birth rates - NH has lowest in the nationAny moment now the Nashua Telegraph or the Concord Monitor will publish an article based on the most recent survey released by the United Health Foundation. (I mentioned it recently here.)  While I do not expect the local media to explore the point in that particualr piece–that you can spend far less in health care and consistently rank in the top three for healthiest states–they will find a few column inches to obsess over this one.

New Hampshire ranked number one in lowest teen pregnancies.

I’ve observed this cultural Granite State statistic in the past (see here, and here),  where my primary concern has always been the lack of data on abortions including chemical abortions using day after pills.  Compound that in past years where no parental notification laws were in place and the shadow extended even further.  Teen pregnancy rates could have been low as a result of abortions and there was no data either way to clear that up.

This year we are in almost the exact same place.  New Hampshire ranks number one with the lowest rate of teen pregnancy in the nation, we still don’t have any good data on abortions or abortificents,  but this year something is different.

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Let Us Dine On the Rotten Fruit of Compromise With the Left

Let it Burn Lets go over the Fiscal Cliff
Democrats Wanted the Fiscal Cliff. They voted for it. They signed it into Law. So Let them have their way.

If you ignore all the marketing and PR that surrounds the fiscal cliff and just boil it all down to the bones, what happens on January first is what Democrats wanted. Ace Gets it right Here.

Remember, the deal that got us to this point was agreed to by House Republicans, Senate Democrats and signed by Obama. That’s as bi-partisan as it gets. I’ve heard from squishy low information voters, Obama and the media that “bi-partisan problem solving” is the Holy Grail of politics. Well, here it is.

The Cliff is a Democrat plan. It was passed by a Democrat Senate, signed by a Democrat President, and as Ace points out, is precisely the kind of compromise the left insists Republicans engage in over and over again.

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Jennifer Horn – Is She Wishing She was “Someone Else?” (Updated and Bumped)

Well, ain’t this sweet?

NH Journal, you remember them, Shawn Millerick, Pat Hynes…they specialize in political fiction.  Well, I guess they had a poll asking who should be the next Chair of the NHGOP.

The NH Journal Poll has the following results:

Who should be the next Chair of the NHGOP?
Andrew Hemingway (59%)
Someone else (21%)
Jennifer Horn (20%)

So does the Candidate NH Journal and the Establishment GOP are pimping for, Jennifer Horn, wish she was “someone else” about now?  At least that way she’d be in second place in the race for Chairman instead of last.

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David Lang Wins Free Speech Award…Say What?

David lang gets free speech awardDavid Lang is the President of the Professional Fire Fighters of New Hampshire (PFFNH).  The PFFNH has a mission, beyond the obvious one of representing fire fighters, and that is to elect Democrats and progressive (r)epublicans, the latter in places that are unlikely to vote for a ‘D.’

This is a union that has invested no small sum in cash and man hours to elect and keep Democrats in power in New Hampshire.  So when I learned that the guy in charge of that union had just received the Nackey Loeb First Amendment Award I though it was a joke.

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NHGOP Exec Committee Backs Off

The NH-GOP Executive Committee (EC) met recently (last night I believe) and bye-bye a vote of 11-8 decided to waive the committee participation fee, referred to by most opponents as the poll tax. This $25.00 “formerly known as almost-sorta-kinda-mandatory” donation will get a wavier from the Establishment for 2013.  Voting committee members will not be … Read more

Wither Thee A Thermostat – One Example of How Government Can Ruin Your Life

Here is a very good example of why the Government sucks, and why the very nature of the state as a reliever of ills is actually destructive to that very end..

Throughout the entire winter, every winter lately, the temperature in my house is around 63-65 degrees.  At night, and when we are out, it is a good bit colder.  This is not exactly the most comfortable environment but I have no choice.  I cannot afford to keep it warmer so we grab extra sweatshirts and blankets and suck it up.

Now some folks will ask, why can’t you afford it and if not would you be eligible for something like heating aid?

I probably am eligible, but it is the governments own fault that I would even need to be eligible in the first place so that is not the kind of aid I want or need.

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How Long Before Nanny Bloomberg Gets To Ban This?

The odds that the nanny-state will have to contend with this potential threat of an obesity catalyst are, well, thin, but the feminazis..well that’s another story…

Pizza hut perfume, the smell of fresh backed pizza in a bottle
Can I get an Eau du Large Fries with that please?

Yes, it’s true. Pizza Hut is now selling its own line of perfume.

The top pizza chain announced Tuesday the release of “Eau du Pizza Hut.” a new fragrance from the Canadian branch of Pizza Hut that aims to capture “the smell of a box of Pizza Hut pizza being opened.”

I can think of a lot of scents I’d like to smell on a woman but isn’t the smell of fresh baked bread (or in this case baked pizza dough) a bit sexist?  Why not a scent that exudes the comfort of freshly laundered clothing or something that’s just been ironed, or the oil on the chain that reaches from the laundry room to the kitchen and the bedroom ?

The smell of that particular oil is actually very arousing.  Now if I could just figure out how to get the manacle off my ankle.

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Was Millerick Donating Regularly to a PAC that Supports Prominent Democrats?

NH Journal took its first shot at Andrew Hemingway for daring to challenge the Republican establishments anointed candidate for NH-GOP chair.  Shawn Millerick sources his most recent remarks on the race for New Hampshire Republican State Party Chairman from a ‘Republican Reader,’ who forwarded to him a piece by the more-often-than-not left wing political meme generator, POLITICO.

The story recounts the mind-numbing volume of shady, fly-by-night PACs formed over the last two years ostensibly designed to help the pugnacious West, a conservative African-American Congressman from Florida.

So Shawn Millerick, the (r)epublican establishment meat puppet whose ‘Sources’ invented a meeting and its purpose out of whole cloth, which Millerick then posted without verification (becasue he probably made it up) and has yet to retract, now has a ‘Republican Reader’ who sent him an article questioning Hemingway’s motivation for using his PAC to support Conservative Republican Allen West for Congress…

OK Shawn I’ll play.  Why did your wife donate regularly to a PAC that gives half it’s money to Democrats in Congress and the US Senate?

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Merry Taxmas!

Americans for Prosperity (AFP) is celebrating the fiscal cliff with a series of suitable Holiday Greetings. It all begins at Merrytaxmas.org where you can send a special holiday message to one of the Legislators on their Naughty or Nice list, or you can share one with your Facebook Friends or Twitter followers. You can learn … Read more

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