2012 - Page 66 of 134 - Granite Grok

Selective Intolerance

September 26, 2018August 5, 2012

“National day of intolerance,” glibly chided Shepard Smith of Fox News a few days ago in reference to the latest in the culture wars: the national Chick-fil-A Appreciation Day–geez, they’re so biased at Fox. For those of you that pay more attention to the throwing of badminton matches, swim meets, or flies collecting on your dog’s latest masterpiece than to the culture wars, I’ll provide a little background. The Chick-fil-A issue revolves around remarks about gay marriage made by the president of that company, followed by a response by some mayors around the country, then followed with people in support of the restaurant with Chick-fil-A Appreciation Day. (This is still unfolding at the time of this writing, but I heard a “kiss-in” is to occur at some point. Stay tuned.)

To summarize the Chick-fil-A president’s opinion on gay marriage: he’s not for it, and for saying so, two notable mayors sounded off and said Chick-fil-A can’t set up shop in their cities. Way to show tolerance, guys!

So, Congressman Frank Guinta dissing one of NH’s most beloved activists – Diane Bitter?

September 26, 2018August 5, 2012 Skip

Title 2: This is not what Frank should be doing to impress his former core supporters for his upcoming US Senate run…

Yeah, really! Diane Bitter (Rye Republican Town Chair, NH GOP Area-Vice Chair, and NH Assistant Secretary, and MUCH more importantly, Conservative and TEA Party activist) reached out to Frank and his campaign LAST MARCH about attending this event (yes, yet another group she is involved with):

The Seacoast Republican Women is a well respected group all over the state on the Right side of the aisle. Diane is also well connected here in NH – and she is very experienced on putting on both large and small events all over the state. This is not a snafu on her part as from MY previous experience with her (and anyone that has worked with her can vouchsafe this), she does not leave important details to the last moment such as NOT giving a sitting Congressman a LONG lead on an event. She knows that to get a VIP, you ask early and stay on it. She did – again, the request went out in MARCH – 5 months ago. She was told soon after “No problem!”. Oh Wait!…

Peter Bolster for NH Senate District #6 – an Editorial for Truth in Advertisment

September 26, 2018August 5, 2012 Skip

Updated and Bumped: Grok Reader Bob saw this and asked that I update this post given that it is out of date – Bolster quickly gave up his delusions of a NH Senate run and is now running to retain his seat in the NH House, I should make sure that folks knew if they came across this post. While what his sign says (NH District 6) is now out of date – given that he IS a former Democrat, and VOTES like a Democrat (another one of those that is using the Republicans to get elected), my little addition to his sign is STILL applicable.

UN Arms Treaty Dead…But Not The Discussion

September 26, 2018August 5, 2012 Steve MacDonald

I was writing a follow up to our grass roots effort to contact New Hampshire Senator Kelly Ayotte--to push her off the fence, basically, to vote against the UN Arms Treaty. Senator Ayotte eventually agreed with us and along with Senator Portman–who is typically an unreliable centrist on issues like this–made it impossible for the treaty to get Senate Approval.

Yeah, we were pretty jacked about it. But not everyone was convinced it was the right thing to do.

GrokTV – Live from the AFPF Defending the Dream Summit in DC

September 26, 2018August 4, 2012 Skip

I’m a wee bit late but got into the booth later than I expected (had to wait for the previous occupants to clear out). Am lining up the guests and will be yakking live in a few minutes!

Live video from your Android device on Ustream

So far, we have had the chance to talk to:

Has Forty Years Of Feminist Culture Had an Epiphany?

September 26, 2018August 4, 2012 Steve MacDonald

New York City ‘Officials,’ which I take to mean ‘experts’ have gotten this crazy idea in their heads. Feeding babies breast milk may actually be better for them. The babies not the officials. Although, maybe….no. Not going there.

The NPR headline reads New York City Officials: Breast Milk May Be Best ‘Formula.’ You think?

I wonder what clued them in? I’m certain it was not the 70,000 years of human existence that preceded their benevolent if not entirely unobservant genius, during which women fed their babies breast milk. That would be far too obvious for such advanced thinkers as ‘officials’ and ‘experts.’

Happy Birthday….

September 26, 2018August 4, 2012 Steve MacDonald

…To my daughter Katie. My youngest child turns 12 today. If you would like to celebrate by donating to a local New Hampshire Republican campaign knock yourself out. Feel free to donate to the Grok, or buy something at amazon. Mow your lawn, go about your business, take a trip, nap all day, work on … Read more

But You Are Still a “D”-Bag

September 26, 2018August 4, 2012 Rick Olson

douche bag: (noun) “An individual who has an over-inflated sense of self worth, compounded by a low level of intellegence, behaving ridiculously in front of colleagues with no sense of how moronic he appears.” —Urban Dictionary

AFPF American Dream Summit – “What is your American Dream? Obama’s version?”

September 26, 2018August 3, 2012 Skip

Well, I didn’t get the interviews I wanted to this morning at the Americans for Prosperity Defending the American Dream Summit, so I changed gears and found a number of attendees just arriving that agreed to a quick Grok “micro-interview”. Two questions:

What is your version of the American Dream?
Contrast that with what you think the Obama Administration’s version of the American Dream is?

Short, simple, and to the point. Even two of my old Samsphere blogger buddies, Bob Weeks and Eric Telford, assented to answering my questions. So, what were the answers?

Democrats (and a lot of Establishment Republicans) wish it WAS dead

September 26, 2018August 3, 2012 Skip

Heh! In the video, off camera, folks were telling me that they ARE the TEA Party, and they stopped protesting – and started putting their shoulders to the grindstones to change the system back to what it should be. (H/T: Legal Insurrection)

Ray Buckley- Another Tall Tale About Budgets, Education, and Bill O’Brien

September 26, 2018August 3, 2012 Steve MacDonald

Ray Buckley, Chairman of the New Hampshire Democrat Party is quoted as having actually said this. (DiStaso – Granite Status)

“The people of New Hampshire are more concerned with Bill O’Brien’s behavior acting as the House speaker, his state budget that has New Hampshire in the red, and his policies that have caused a loss of jobs and the cost of education skyrocket.

There is not one thing in this statement that is true. Not one.

Democrats Come Up Short on Jobs…Again!

September 26, 2018August 3, 2012 Steve MacDonald

For the umpteenth month, when we needed at least 250,000 jobs just to keep our heads above water, Democrat polices kept us submerged and running out of air. This month, they missed breaking the surface by only 90,000 jobs, which means that of the roughly 250,000 new people who try to enter the work force … Read more

Another Bad Week For Obama – Solyndra Knocked on The West Wing Door

September 26, 2018August 3, 2012 Steve MacDonald

Bad Jobs numbers, people entering the workforce can’t find employment…and hey, it looks like Obama’s Chief of Staff Bill Daley was briefed about Solyndra’s impending demise six months before it happened and before the White House approved the loan restructuring. So the White House knew about the impending failure, and decided that the major PR … Read more

NH TEA Party Republicans Better At Revenue & Spending Estimates Than Democrats…Again

September 26, 2018August 2, 2012 Steve MacDonald

I know… New Hampshire Democrats were losing sleep in hopes of some politically-beneficial revenue numbers, and guess what? They were politically beneficial….To TEA Party Republicans.

The Union Leader is reporting that New Hampshire state revenues were slightly above estimates in July, with solid performances that suggest we are budgeting wisely so that the working families and small business owners in New Hampshire can continuing to drag us out of the economic quick sand in which Democrat tax and spend polices have had us trapped.

So How well did the TEA Party Republicans manage your money for July 2012?

Is the GOP dead in the long run? The WSJ begs to differ.

September 26, 2018August 2, 2012

DC statists are really scared of this guy....

I recently quoted political analyst, author, commentator, and former Presidential candidate Pat Buchanan, who says “In the long run, the GOP is dead.” Why? Because the GOP’s voting base of white people is shrinking, while the numbers of Blacks, Hispanics, and Asians—all of whom tend to vote Democrat—are rising. Goodbye GOP?

“No so fast,” says The Wall Street Journal.

Americans for Prosperity Foundation: Defend the American Dream Summit 2012

September 26, 2018August 2, 2012 Skip

I drove down here to DC yesterday for AFP’s Defending the American Dream Summit 2012. There’s a packed agenda for sure, and I have some slots tomorrow (10 – 2pm) and on Saturday ( 8 – 3pm) for the ‘Grok to be on Radio Row so am hoping nab some good interviews. I’ll put up “sticky posts” when we go live.

Given what is going on in NH on the Sustainable Communities Initiative (aka, Smart Growth, Granite State Future Plan, Water Sustainability Commission) that has been breaking here on the ‘Grok, and with…

GrokWATCH: Right To Know Request – Water Sustainability Commission public surveys

September 26, 2018August 2, 2012 Skip

Two days ago, we launched our newest Right To Know series concerning Gov. Lynch’s Water Sustainability Commission – that which was ordered into existence by Executive Order:

Good afternoon,

Having just taken your survey, I have a question: will you be publishing all of the surveys taken so as to validate the summary result? Like any good scientific OR Governmental process, it is always best, for openness and transparency, to publish all raw data.

If not, please consider this a Right To Know request under RSA 91-A for all of the filled out surveys that were received from SurveyMonkey (or by other means) on that survey, as shown by your page (http://www.nh.gov/water-sustainability/).

Yesterday was Chick-Fil-a day! And a hateful CFO is getting canned?

September 26, 2018August 2, 2012 Skip

Update: Yes, for the hate filled rant below, Adam Smith is no longer the CFO at Vante. Thanks to the commentors for confirming it! “Always tastes better when it is full of hate!” All the way down to DC, I kept hearing how Conservative folks have been flocking (pun intended) to Chick-Fil-A outlets to support … Read more

Data Point – Taxmageddon (Obama’s Tax Hikes, Part 3-it will cost YOU!)

September 26, 2018August 2, 2012 Skip

(H/T: Heritage Foundation)

GrokTV – NH State Senator Andy Sanborn – Question 8

September 26, 2018August 2, 2012 Skip

Accomplishments?

We always try to spend “a little time with GraniteGrok” and with Andy Sanborn (running for reelection to the NH Senate in District 9), we came to the realization that we had spent a lot more time than just a little. So, we decided to end our interrogation interview with him with this last question.

Question 8:

What things have you accomplished since our first interview last cycle? Not get done?

We did all agree that we needed to come back and yak with Andy strictly on some issues rather than on the concentration on how the State does what it does – but it is nice to know that SOMEBODY has this in their head that not only do Legislators create laws for the rest of us but also how the “back of the house” (as Andy the restauranteur would put it) is doing as well. After all, they ARE supposed to be serving us, the citizens.