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.

Local Culture…of corruption?

Steve MacDonald

It’s not what you know it’s who you know.  And Gary Hirschberg, CEO of Stonyfield Yogurt, knows democrats.  So maybe that’s why Stonyfield Yogurt has received a $100,000.00 dollar job training grant from the state for 678 Stonyfield employees, complete with a visit from governor Lynch?  And while Hirschberg says Stonyfield is matching the grant … Read more

New Hampshire Is Number 3!!!!

Steve MacDonald

Number three of what?  How about number three for this.   Top 10 states ranked by local government public welfare employees per 100,000 residents New York                           256 Wisconsin                         249 New Hampshire              241 Ohio                                   228 Minnesota                        208 California                         189 Pennsylvania                  178 North Carolina                174 North Dakota                 164 New Jersey                     146     … Read more

Getting Desperate?

Steve MacDonald

This is interesting.  After reading comments in various groups the consensus seems to be that it is clearly an issues ad but that it smells distinctly of left wing attack-tics.   Watch it, and compare it to this, and see if you think Mr. Giuda is stretching the facts and does it make him appear desperate? … Read more

Observation

Steve MacDonald

I have hypothesized, not all tongue in cheek, that the Obama administration is doing everything it can think of to start some kind of public unrest to justify more government infringement of some kind, preferably before the November elections.  And to be honest, it’s far fetched, and even wild speculation, but why does this guy … Read more

Three Peanuts Were Walking Down The Road…

Steve MacDonald

…One was A Salted.  Or, in the case of resident Jeff walker, assaulted–at least that’s what David Lovejoy candidate for Rockingham County Sheriff allegedly turned himself into the police for questioning.  This relates back to my 8/16 post (here) where I suggested after the fact–without knowing exactly what had transpired–that Mr. Walker might want to … Read more

Under Norelli’s Rule

Steve MacDonald

Guh!?Yesterday Terie Norelli celebrated my Birthday by taking to the pages of the Keene Sentinel to talk about what a great job the New Hampshire democrat party has been doing with the state.  One of the things she’d like you to believe is that they have created (or saved?) a job friendly environment that has allowed the Granite State to recover more quickly than other states.  But is that really true, and do democrats have anything at all to do with it?

It is a matter of fact that under the left New Hampshire has grown the size of state government and its regulatory nature.  They have increased taxes and fees.  While Ms. Norelli opines all the additional regulations they have added to inspire growth in the job market—and thus the economy—this is like someone handing you a tiny cup of water to put out a raging fire they started and then expecting you to thank them.

About the only thing they can claim is having inherited an ages old State formula that used to create jobs and growth.  One they have tinkered with to the point of destruction.  And things are not–as Norelli would like you to believe– heading in the right direction.

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Hodespocrisy–The Tale of Dirty Dick

Steve MacDonald

Dick Durbin, or Dirty Dick as we like to call him around the shop, is a prominent Senator from Illinois and another $10,000.00 donor to Paul Hodes.  Durbin has all the standard conflicts with the "New and Improved Hodes–With extra Hypocritical Action!, and coming in at 685 million in earmark requests since fiscal year 2008 (117 million in 2010), dirty Dick should fit nicely into Paul’s stated mission to end earmark abuse in congress.

You’d think that soon to be private citizen Hodes would be concerned that all of his major donors are pork addicts. Simply taking money from them violates his earmark parole, but since when did integrity have anything to do with it.  It’s clearly about saying whatever it takes to get re-elected. 

So what else is so special about Durbin?

 

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Of Mosques and Men…

Steve MacDonald

Guest post from Robert Jursik…

For a man seemingly incapable of going fifteen minutes without saying "Let me be clear," President Obama evidently has an uncanny knack for being  misunderstood.  Following the iftar dinner hosted at the White House Friday night, headlines in every major newspaper in America – and even the New York Times – screamed something similar to "President Backs Ground Zero Mosque."  Within twenty-four hours came the update: "Uhh, no he didn’t."

Now we are told that he actually meant he supports the RIGHT to build a mosque but would not actually comment on the WISDOM of it.  Horse hockey.  The "eloquent" Harvard-trained lawyer-turned-best-selling-author-turned-president knows exactly what he meant: he wants everyone to think he agrees with them.  It should not be that difficult to come down on one side of this question or the other.  The debate we’re seeing in this country now proves that without question.  Given the choice between progressive liberalism and libertarian constitutionalism, I choose…neither.

In fact, I choose – as I always do – conservatism…

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Pilots And Patriots Defending The Constitution

Steve MacDonald

Christopher Hill is the founder and driving force of Pilots and Patriots defending the constitution, a grass roots group focused on attracting professional pilots (Chris was a fighter Pilot in the Gulf War), and just about anyone who can be a convincing patriot (they accepted me). "Pilots and Patriots Defending the Constitution" is a growing … Read more

Parody

Steve MacDonald

Readers of The Weekly Standard will be familair with the Parody page at the back of every issue.  In the August 16th Issue the we find a faux front page of the New York Post Metro Edition.  Michelle Obama dominates the cover but in the top left column is this… BoSox Museum to be built on … Read more

What About Bob?

Steve MacDonald

What About Bob?Congressional Candidate Bob Bestani is what you might call a well-connected ruling class insider.  He has spent years as part of the evil international banking community and he is proud of his work for the Asian Development Bank (ADB).  According to his Campaign site Bio

Until May of 2008, Bob served as the Director General of Private Sector Finance at the Asian Development Bank, a multilateral bank dedicated to alleviating poverty in Asia. In the six years in which he served in that capacity, ADB’s private sector financings and earnings grew by over 40 times their 2001 levels, while portfolio quality and earnings steadily improved. Working closely with most of the countries of Asia, the Private Sector Department grew from the smallest of ADB’s departments to the largest and most successful operating unit of the ADB. In March of 2008 the Bank’s Board adopted private sector financings as the leading priority of the ADB for the years ahead.

So what’s the big deal?  Bob worked at a major international bank that is dedicated to alleviating poverty?  Well it seems to me that if you are going to use alleviating poverty to advance your political credibility people deserve to know the potential downside of how that actually plays out in the real world.

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Rockingham Looks For A Sherriff

Steve MacDonald

There are some interesting developments in the race for Rockingham county Sheriff.   Candidate David Lovejoy was involved in a ruckus in East Kingston over the placement of some campaign signs—this from Seacoast Online.com  (More here) The guy on the other side of the alleged altercation was local farmer Jeff Walker, who might want to watch … Read more

Character Bass-assination

Steve MacDonald

  So how does this work for Charlie Bass? Back in 2005 C-Bass lead the school in an effort to get Tom DeLay to step down as Majority leader because of possible connections to Lobbyist Jack Abramoff. That’s not exactly a way to instill confidence or support in the guy.  Well the DoJ just announced … Read more

Rewriting History….sort of

Steve MacDonald

Barack, did you cut down that cherry tree? (pause — there was no teleprompter back then) "Let me be perfectly clear……George Bush did it!

Americans for Prosperity “Free Summer Cookout” this Wednesday

Steve MacDonald

This Wednesday, August 18th, starting at 5pm, Americans for Prosperity’s NH chapter is hosting a "Free Summer Cookout", at Sargent Park, behind Holman Stadium, Nashua.

Free food, candidate meet-and-greets, family fun!

Wed Aug 18th, 2010
5pm
Sargent’s Park, Nashua NH (behind Holman Stadium)

AFP.jpg
  
Press Release

______________________________________________________________________________

For Immediate Release – Monday, August 16, 2010
Contact: Corey R. Lewandowski (603) 894-5881 or (202) 550-7839

E-Mail: CLewandowski@afphq.org

 

Americans For Prosperity To Host Free Summer Cookout In Nashua Wednesday
Gubernatorial, US House candidates invited to join public to discuss issues

 

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John And Terry Try To Suppress Free Speech?

Steve MacDonald

Granite Grok- Supporting racist vandals?Someone sent me a picture of a campaign sign with a sombrero on it.  It was a Mahoney for Congress sign.  It was, well…kind of funny, given that Mr. Mahoney stated on video that he was basically supporting the Grahamnesty path to amnesty.  He has flip flopped since then, and insists he’s for a border fence first, but it’s a campaign thing…who really knows.   But that didn’t make the sign any less amusing.  So I posted it.

As with most things a blogger posts, not everyone agrees.  And that’s kind of the point. We encourage that, but somtimes the comments are not well thought out.  For the record I posted the photo in question with no supporting text.

Comment number one on the jump

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Why It Doesn’t Pay To Defend A Democrat

Steve MacDonald

Republican House Rep Steve Vallincourt came to Tim Horrigan’s defense over his Pailn comments.  (This from this mornings Union Leader.)

“Rep. Horrigan didn’t wish anyone dead; he simply stated a political truth,” Vaillaincourt wrote. “Were Sarah Palin to die today, her myth, like actor James Dean, would surpass anything she’s done in life. If Dem officials took Rep. Horrigan to the woodshed for these remarks, they rather than he should be resigning."

In response to Vallincourt’s comments Harrel Kristein, democrat party, issued a prompt press release

"Will NHGOP Practice What They Preach? GOP Representative praises comments about the death of Sarah Palin."

“If the New Hampshire Republican Party is really concerned with abhorrent political speech, they should immediately denounce Rep. Vaillancourt’s comments and ask him to resign.”

I guess that means you can’t talk about it, even to defend Horrigan?

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