Batman, culture, guns….freedom vs safety / security…..Second Amendment vs “Responsible” – Part 1 on ABC News

OK, I’ve been REAL busy doing interviews and then taking care of the care, feeding, and placement of the videos

Sidenote: which means take the video, transfer to the PC, bring it into the editing software, start chopping it up, export each question (making sure to, you know, write the question down), upload to YouTube, make the post on GraniteGrok, and then filling in the “post” on YouTube – not a small amount of time and I just do it as a blogger and not taking the time that a REAL videographer would be taking (ouch!)

and since I’ve been running 4 threads per day for a while, that DOES take up a lot of time prepping.  But they’re almost all up and scheduled, so back to writing.  Finally.  Now to play lots of catchup here.

A horrendous event in Aurora, CO for the midnight screening of Batman.  Now, I’m not a movie person and there’s no way that I’m going to a midnight showing of pretty much anything except the “count the sheep” flick (I’m such a fuddy-duddy).  But now we have the one of “our national discussions” once again.  I have a bunch of things to say but a couple of things real quick.

First, why hasn’t ABC’s “Chief Investigative Reporter” (and using the scare quotes deliberately) been fired yet?  You know, bloggers get dumped on all the time by the lazy Mainstream Press all the time because we do not have the “layers of editors and fact checkers” that they do (well, when you have no income from what you do and still have to pay the hosting charges, there is no money for those “layers”).  Yet, to say that Brian Ross was irresponsible is to say that a tsunami will give you a bad hair day.  Years and years of being the “go to Journalist” allowed he and Democrat hack George Stephanopoulas (also posing as a tried and true journo) breathlessly coming up with fact they wanted “Hey, this guy, this James Holmes, HE’S A TEA PARTY GUY!”.  They thought they finally had the clincher to the meme they’ve being trying to make for the last three years – TEA Party folks are violent and gun crazy”.  Yet, a simple Google search showed up an entire network’s resources as being worse than being Lefty hacks – in fact, they were just incompetent, untrustworthy, and in the rush to “move the story”, showed their ideological spines under the bright TV lights (in fact, they guy they “found” was in his 50s and not like the shooter who was in his 20s).

Yet, how forthcoming was ABC on issuing an apology?  Not far at all, it seems – a “move along, nothing to see here”:

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Batman, culture, guns….freedom vs safety / security…..Second Amendment vs “Responsible” – Part 2 on concealed carry doodling

The Lakes Region Porcupines meet at the New Hong Kong Buffet in Belmont, NH every third Saturday of the month, and this Saturday ONE of the big topics was the despicable act by a brilliant but sick, demented, mentally ill person.  Now, these folks  are rather Libertarian to full bore Libertarians (heh!  I seem to be the token Conservative) and just about all of them fully support the Second Amendment – and some open carry all the time.  I have a concealed carry permit and I believe several others do as well so it was logical that the topic of the murders in the Aurora, Colorado would come up.

Some were insistent that if someone had been carrying (open or concealed) in that theater, some of those that died or were hurt could have been saved.  I was the only dissenter in that if you looked at the environment and looked at how the shooter, James Holmes, had equipped himself, it would be unclear.  A dark theater, a deranged shooter who was in rapid fire mode wearing complete body armor (ballistic helmet, body armor including throat and groin protection) who also had thrown two “grenades” that emitted a noxious gas that affected breathing and sight (not sure exactly what as I haven’t seen or heard the details, but it could have been tear gas or pepper spray cannisters – or something homebrewed).  Mass confusion – people screaming, moving to get out; unless someone was a trained SWAT or Spec Ops operator used to working and reacting PROPERLY in such a situation, I’m not convinced if a single person would have been able to make a difference.

Before I started shooting, I used to think “that can’t be THAT difficult, right?”  Aim it at a target couple hundred feet, pull the trigger.    Shooting a target with a handgun, if you have not done so, is HARD – and starting out, being consistent at 5 or 10 yards is much harder than I ever thought.  Further out, and you learn that just a wee bit of a tremble in your hands, your stance, your finger pulling the trigger ALSO putting a sideways “push or pull” on the handgun, anticipating the recoil ahead of the shot, having bad eyes (like me); well, let’s just say that this is a high skill technique to do it well over and over.

Now add in a Red Bull can of adrenaline when you realize the horror of what is going on, your eyes are tearing up from the chemical agent, trying to avoid getting shot yourself – this is not an easy shot just at a unprotected person trying kill you but with the body armor the spots that are vulnerable become exceedingly small.

And he’s moving.

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Guest Post by Scott Morales- “Atrocity, Mass Murder, Mayhem? It’s the Tea Party!”

GraniteGrok is proud to introduce Scott Morales to our pages.  He is a regular contributor over at Merrimack Patch but we liked his work so much we’ve invited him to share some of it here at GraniteGrok.

-Steve

Atrocity, Mass Murder, Mayhem? It’s the Tea Party!

Is it really surprising that ABC jumped to Tea Party accusations, immediately tying them to the movie theater shooting in Colorado? Maybe to some. I mean, anyone not living in a left wing bubble can easily discern some characteristics of the pathetic psycho who opened fire during a Batman movie and place them on the political spectrum, but they do not do so. Most people do not and will not see this atrocity as a political statement or it being motivated by the crushing burden of Obamanomics, but the brilliant, perspicacious rogues that occupy the left will and do see this through the smudged, greasy lense of politics. This is because most don’t think in terms of politics, but the left does. So what is the motivation for those who do place all things on the political spectrum? What compelled ABC’s Brian Ross to insert the Tea Party into the story? Steve pointed to one possibility in this case, but I think it goes deeper.

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GrokTV Event-Rumney home event for Ovide Lamontagne (Candidate, NH Gov.) – Question 7: Why is the resigned Commissioner of Employment Security still on the payroll?

The next question that the attendees asked of Ovide (after asking if he’d keep Attorney General Delaney on) was a similar one concerning the Commissioner of Employment Security that resigned under a cloud of nepotism and a “bending” of the rules for unemployment insurance afterwards: Question 7: Why is the resigned Commissioner of Employment Security … Read more

GrokTV Special Interview – Rick Parent, candidate for US Congress in NH CD-1 – Question 6 – On a political line, where would you see yourself (Nancy Pelosi to Jim Demint)?

A question that I have not asked for a while can go along ways to help voters on the Right decide where someone stands on the issues and that is to figure out if there is a “known entity” out there that is well known with a track record that is established.  And is the … Read more

GrokTV Special Interview: Bob Burns (Candidate for NH Exec. Council Dist. 4) – Question 7 – What else does the Council do?

Contracts.  Judges.  Appointments.  The NH Executive Council does that – but we asked Bob Burns what else the Exec. Council does that he thinks needs to be changed? Question 7: You’ve mentioned contracts, you’ve mentioned judges / dept. heads; what else does the Council do that has a specific interest in your heart that you … Read more

GrokTV Special Interview: Susan Olsen,NH House Candidate (Merrimack-7) – Question 10 – He who makes the Rules gets the Gold??

In the last question, Progressive Democrats truly believe that the proper role of Government is to save us from ourselves because we, as individuals, are incapable to take care of ourselves or operate in our own self-interest as life is too hard and too complicated.  Thus, since Progressives have decided that, to force you to … Read more

Armed People Present? More Safety for All.

Two pro-self-defense State Reps.: Jenn Coffey and...

In the wake of the mass murder tragedy at an Aurora, Colorado movie theater yesterday—and the immediate effort of the Mainstream Media to link it to the Tea Party movement—it is worth remembering that More Guns Means Less Crime.

For instance, when a would-be mass murderer shot his way into a packed church in Colorado during a Sunday service in 2007…

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Will NH Democrats Drool At Developments In France?

Francois Hollande Socialist leader of FranceFrance’s golden age passed long ago, and thanks to the French is doomed never to return.

The New Socialist dominant government has set right to work doing something New Hampshire Democrats did (to a lesser extent) when they had complete control of our state government.  Right out of the gate the French Socialists are raising taxes.  But not just any taxes.   €7.2 Billion in one off taxes on wealthy households and big corporations…because the country continues to spend more than its  economy can come up with.  Sound familiar?  Their debt is at 90% of GDP.

What else sounds familiar?  How about wealthy households and corporations leaving France to escape confiscatory taxation?

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GrokTV Event – Rumney home event for Ovide Lamontagne (Candidate, NH Governor) – Question 4: UN Arms treaty mean US gun control imposed on us?

The folks who attended the home event in Rumney, NH for Ovide Lamontagne (vying to be the Republican nominee for NH Governor) changed the topic to one that is near and dear to many (if not most) New Hampshire-ites: Guns and the ability to possess and use firearms.  Why?  In some cases, like moi, simply … Read more

Obama Fail Spotlight: I Will Go Line By Line to Remove Wasteful Earmarks…

If you missed this post, there is a link to a blog that is compiling 1001 reasons to vote against Obama. There are at least 600 reasons so far.  But as I reviewed the first 100, which I included in my linked post, I came across a classic Obamaism that deserved special attention.

The promise to go line by line through legislation before signing it, to remove wasteful earmarks.  Of course his first major piece of spending legislation was the stimulus, and what wasn’t for public sector union bailouts was wasteful earmarks.

So Mr. Obama was either lying or he is not very good at reading legislation (A common problem for Democrats, or so I hear).

“Candidate Barack Obama publicly promises to go “line by line” through legislation to remove wasteful earmarks.”

  • Obama stimulus gave $200,000 to teach Siberian lawmakers how to engage Russian policy makers in Moscow.
  • Stimulus funding of $250,000 went to bug storage for an insect museum at North Carolina State University that gets 44 visitors a year.
  • Gave $500,000 to put microchips in recycling bins to check up on the recycling efforts of senior citizens.
  • $5 million to create a geothermal energy system for the Oak Ridge City Center shopping mall in Oak Ridge, Tenn.
  • $9.38 million to renovate a century-old train depot in Lancaster County, Pa., that has not been used for three decades.

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So WHY is our Second District Congressman, Charlie Bass, not signed up to defund Obamacare?

Bass No Sign Defund ObamacareCharlie Bass promised to vote against Obamacare – did.  That should have signaled the intention to kill it anyway possible or needed – so why didn’t he sign the Letter?  Would he actually vote to defund Obamacare?

241 US Congressmen are Republicans.  127 of them have signed a Letter saying it was time to use THE power of the US House of Representatives – the Power of the Purse.  They have voted to repeal Obamacare multiple times (33, by some counts) but given the Democrat leadership in the Senate, it died.  And no one would ever think that a sober Obama would kill off his legacy namesake for the ages and sign a bill that would do exactly that.  Thus, defund it.  And then have the stones to stick with it.  And that scenario would come up with the bills to run the Government – the Doomsday setup. The House vs the Senate, I think, in this case.  Here’s the Letter:

Dear Speaker Boehner and Leader Cantor,

We are outraged by the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to rewrite and largely uphold the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (“ObamaCare”), as we know you are as well. And we know that our sentiments are in line with the vast majority of Americans who believe that healthcare should be controlled by patients and doctors, not by the government.

We appreciate your willingness to schedule a vote on the full repeal of ObamaCare. We should continue efforts to repeal the law in its entirety this year, next year, and until we are successful. However, in the meantime, there is more we can do in Congress.

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Yeah, I can see this happening more and more with smart electric meters….

Set the stage: former Enviro / Energy White House Advisor to Obama, Carol Browning (from US News and World Report)

We need to make sure that we’re really moving electricity in the smartest way and using the most cost-effective electricity at the right time of day. Eventually, we can get to a system where an electric company will be able to hold back some of the power so that maybe your air conditioner won’t operate at its peak, you’ll still be able to cool your house, but that’ll be a savings to the consumer. And so [we will be] giving people and companies a role in the management of how we use electricity.

Right; THAT gives me the warm and fuzzies.  Just like Obama when he said “at some point you’ve earned enough money”, Carol Browning wants to see the day when “you’ve used enough energy – and we know better where that point it”.  Sure, we will get to “play a role”, but merely a sham one – someone else will be making the shots via smart meters that will watch what you use and send that information back to our Energy Rulers.

Now for the story about a Smart Meter installation and guns…Texas Woman Pulls Gun on Meter Installer

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Data Point – Fair Share: who DOES pay the income tax?

From AEIdeas: When is fair, well, fair?  Unfortunately, the Democrat Socialists that have their greedy fingers into the tax code are not going to be happy until the marginal tax rate for the top 15% (or lower) rises to 100%.

Regional Protectors or Watermelons?

NRPC Logo

NRPC Executive Committee Meeting 07-18-12

I, along with about 6 other people, attended the July, 2012 Executive Committee meeting of the Nashua Regional Planning Commission (NRPC), in an attempt to gain a better understanding of how this “advisory” Regional Planning entity operates.

The 9 RPCs in New Hampshire were created as “political subdivisions” in approximately 1969, and operate under RSA 36 (45-53).

The public portion of the meeting lasted about 33 minutes (see video), and was followed by a non-public session, where the visitors from the public had to leave, as the committee discussed sensitive issues relating to personnel, hiring, firing, promotion, salaries, etc. of public employees.

You can imagine my surprise when the non-public portion of the meeting lasted nearly 90 minutes (with me waiting in the lobby).  I have been on a school board before, and I never experienced a non-public session that lasted any more than 20 minutes, except when dealing with a very complicated lawsuit against the school district.

(continue reading…)

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Federal Mandate Drives Up School Lunch Prices in Merrimack NH

Public school-cafeteria; Fed mandate forces parents to pay more for lunches than they costWho says there is no such thing as a free lunch?  Well it wont be just Merrimack, New Hampshire.  The Healthy Hunger Free Kids Act of 2010 Federal mandate essentially implemented price controls everywhere School lunch is served to fund free lunch, based on federal guidelines, decided on for everyone, by a few hundred Democrats, in Washington DC, in the historically significant later part of 2010.

The Democrat Congress put the USDA on point for this program, and empowered them to manage the new federal programs under the premise that it can eliminate hunger and improve nutrition.  But at the end of the day this is little more than Federal meddling, income redistribution (again), and  using the promise of federal grants and support  to turn your public school lunch program into  a taxpayer powered soup kitchen.

And not just any soup kitchen.  A soup kitchen that has to jump through hoops if it wants to please the Federal Bureaucrats empowered to decide who is worthy of what handouts and if local taxpayers must pony up to meet the federal requirements.

One of those requirements is that schools start charging students (parents) more for each lunch purchased (during a recession),  to satisfy the mandated price defined by the legislation, regardless of how much the lunch actually costs.  Yes, the Feds are telling local school districts across the Fruited Plain what they must charge for a school lunch; whatever cost reimbursement amount the feds are willing to provide for a free lunch, regardless of what it costs us to sell a lunch to a paying student.

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GrokTV Event-Rumney home event for Ovide Lamontagne (Candidate, NH Gov.) – Question 6 – Attorney General Delaney?

Giving the talk of healthcare and the (now settled) Obamacare lawsuit, the question came up about NH Attorney General Delaney, as well as other department heads.  Should they all be replaced? Question 6: Do you anticipate keeping Delaney as the Attorney General?  For all Dept heads? Previous: Ovide’s talk Question 1:  The Speaker has announced … Read more

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