I know that guy!

I live 5 miles from the center of the Town of Bradford. There’s not much excitement here in this rural community especially out where I live. It’s why we moved here from Bedford’s hustle and bustle in 1991. We love the outdoors and the privacy we have on our 27 acres. Yep, even a river runs through it…well, it’s really a brook and, unfortunately, I’ve never seen Brad Pitt fly fishing here although he and Angelina and the kids are welcome.

We regularly watch deer from our farmer’s porch. Beautiful herron’s land on our pond, and life is pretty simple and quiet most of the time. Sometimes we see bears and moose cutting through our property. Canadian geese make regular stops when migrating. Wood ducks mate and meander through the water. It’s peaceful and beautiful, and we’re blessed to live permanently in what many others would consider a vacation home.

Unbelievably, the peace was interrupted Monday when the little branch of Lake Sunapee Bank was robbed at knife point. Yep, it’s where I bank and I know all of the tellers by name and see them out and about elsewhere in the community.

I also substitute taught at the Kearsarge Regional School District for several years and fairly regularly saw Mark Laspesa,, the alleged bank robber, sweeping and going about his custodial duties. I talked to him there a few times and he helped me move some desks. He was always pleasant to me.

I was shocked to see his picture in the paper, click here, while he was in the midst of allegedly robbing my local bank. More accurately, "armed robbery" since apparently he had a knife.

Mr. Laspesa is most definitely the Dope of the Week. Why, you ask? He wears no disguise, he banks at the branch he alledgedly robbed, he uses his own car, the tellers and many people in town know him; when the police catch him, he still has the clothing and knife used in the robbery…need I go on!

It really makes me wonder why this quiet, former custodian would do such a stupid thing. Since he made it so easy to be caught, I can’t help but wonder what made him so desperate? I almost feel sorry for him, although I’m sure the very nice gals down at the bank may have been quite frightened. I’m sure I’ll see them later today, when I do some banking, and hear the entire story.

Of course, it’s all the town’s people have talked about since then. Well, at least it takes the focus off of what they usually gossip about. You know small towns; if they don’t know anything about you, they just make stuff up whether it’s true or not. Our family was verbally "victimized" by many townspeople shortly after we moved here because people "heard" we were in ministry.

The rumors were unbelievable and some of them were just plain bizzare. My husband and I tend to ignore such things, but when our 6-year old son came home from school one day and told us about some of the horrible things kids were saying to him about us, my husband took action. 

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Free Will

We have a "nutty professor" up here in the central part of NH.  A lot of time, not a lot of respect flows from him.  Just thought I’d let him chew on this, as even the "little people" deserve as much, if not more, than the "important people".
 

Life is all about "Free will", which I call one of God's gifts.

Using the animal kingdom as an example, the species were formed in such a
way as to have to prey on other, more vulnerable creatures in order to
survive. Big fish eat little fish. Lions and Tigers eat Wildebeests. The
strongest survive because they get more of the creatures to eat. They also
survive because their birth rates are geared to meeting those needs. Fish
spawn with thousand and thousands of roe, that turn into fry, that turn into
fish, that become meals for bigger fish. The more wily, and luckier small
fish survive and then they become the predators who eat the small fish.
Lions don't spawn but they do have multiple births. Often papa lion will
kill the male cubs because he doesn't want future competition, and because
it is the mama lions who go out and get his next meal for him. You can fill
in the rest of the animal kingdom, it's almost all the same.

What does all that have to do with "Free will"?

Imagine, if instead of free will, we were all made exactly equal. Everyone
was a smart and as ambitious as everyone else. We were all equally strong
and no one had an advantage. Without free will, how would we survive? Would
we be like the fish?, the lions?, or some other creature?, where, for our
survival, we had to do the other person in. If we don't have "Free will" and
we're all "equal", who is going to plant and harvest the garden? Who is
going to mine the coal or drill for oil or water? Who is going to work at
the grocery store or the service station? Who is going to mow the lawn or
take out the trash? And, oops, who is going to pick up the trash? Who is
going to humble himself for the benefit of his equals, because then he would
not be "equal".

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Shoot the B#*!#^+s!

Ruger Mini-14
Ruger Mini-14. The "ranch rifle" of choice here at the ‘Grok
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Okay, much has been made of the upcoming GOP fundraiser so click here to read about it first,and then I’ll tell you why I love my right to bear arms!

My father owned a .22 rifle when I was a kid. He made sure that I, and my brother and sister, knew proper gun safety; how to safely handle weapons, load, unload, clean and everything connected with gun safety that he knew, he passed along to us. I will be forever grateful to him for his teachings, and he may have even saved my life.

I have great memories of growing up in Oklahoma City and going out to some remote location where our family would spend a day hiking, picnicking, finding a stream, floating cans and bottles and taking turns shooting at them or at targets. It was a very different time in America (yeah, I know, but nobody was concerned about the environment in those days), and we did not live in fear, as do many people today.

From a very young age thanks to my Dad, I became comfortable and confident in handling any weapon and did not grow up in fear of guns because of it. I did grow up respecting firearms and always handle a firearm assuming it’s loaded. Years later, my later father-in-law and I went out so he could show me how to handle a gun. I didn’t have the heart to tell him I already knew, since he took great pride in instructing me.

After I put six rounds pretty much in the bullseye, he beamed that he had done such a good job teaching me how to shoot. Years later, we shared great laughs about it when he learned about my background with firearms from my Dad when they had an opportunity to meet.

When I lived in Fairbanks, Alaska during the pipeline project in the 1970’s, when there were an over abundance of men compared to woman, I spent many nights alone. I always felt secure knowing I had a loaded handgun on my nightstand. While I always hoped I’d never have to use it, I was happy to have it when one night someone attempted to break into my home in the middle of the night.

 

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The Rising Cost of Healthcare: Chronic Disease

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As the presidential campaign heats up, so does discussion of the issues. While I believe that at the time the votes are cast, most will be based on feelings and perception rather than purely on the important issues of the day, the primary still allow for a good amount of actual discussion on matters that otherwise might never get any real consideration. As we follow the various campaigns during their visits here in the still first in the nation primary state of NH, we have observed at most of these events supporters of the numerous causes vying for "collateral attention" that might be gained as the candidates interact with the regular folks of the Granite State.
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The interest groups and causes are not strictly from one end of the political spectrum. Indeed, they come from every possible political stripe. The Ostrich Girl (YouTube here) promotes social security reform from what I would characterize as a decidedly conservative point of view, while others I’ve run into come from the farthest reaches of lefty-looneyville.
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I’m pretty sure I don’t agree completely with these folks, but I have to give them credit, they are present at every event. Like it or not, the subject of health care is important, and these folks are raising it…
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health care voterhealth care voterhealth care voter
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It is my personal belief that the main issue first and foremost that must concern the next President is that of the war followed by homeland security and an element of border control that must be a part. Many Americans, I’m sure for the most part, agree. There is no doubt, however, that right on the heels of those is the matter of escalating health care costs. Liberal or conservative, the ever growing amounts of hard-earned dollars consumed by basic medical/health needs hurts. Whether it can be said an American President should somehow "control" one seventh of the US economy– the health care industry– is an argument I’ll hold for another day.
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As a conservative, from a global perspective, I see this debate as a struggle between traditional American free-markets versus a socialist model found in some European countries and Canada. This is one part of the debate that remains pretty much in the open and can be almost always heard discussed by the various candidates. Hillary, Obama, Richardson, Kucinich and the rest all promise one variation or other of "universal" health care while Rudy and other Republican wannabees want to increase free market involvement by independent consumers with maximun choices available. This is where I come down. I am sure that this aspect will be debated over and over again as the season rolls along.
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Beyond the grand debate over what shape the health care industry and delivery system might take, there are other points to ponder and consider,

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Aiding the Enemy

Okay, I just returned from a 9-day vacation in California, baby. When I left, I said: "I’ll be back" (use your Arnold voice) and here I am tanner, relaxed and ready to take on the world. I didn’t realize how exhausted I was until I rested. You guys know what I mean. Sun, fun, reading, movies, swimming, … Read more

Oh no, It’s Ann (Not Dennis) Miller Time!

 

Have you ever watched “Miller Time” on the O’Reilly Factor on Fox News? If you have, you know that Dennis Miller is not just one funny dude, but he’s smart as a whip.

I listen to Dennis on WTPL, 107.7 FM from 10 am until 1 pm every chance I get. While he talks about very serious subjects, he always approaches them with his unique sense of humor. He’s one of the few people I know who can slam someone or some cause yet, because he’s always laughing and does it in such good humor, it’s difficult to take offense to his position even if you don’t agree with him.

Then there’s Ann Miller, Executive Director of NH Peace Action. Not only does Ann not seem to have much of a sense of humor, she’s also lacking in the smart as a whip department.

Click on her letter recently published in the Monitor, Giuliani’s Offensive Foreign Policy here, and you’ll see why she’s no pie in the face comedian and just not too bright.

My personal history with Ann goes back several months. After I read an article she wrote published in NH Magazine and after reading several stories from several newspapers, I wrote Ann and she called me. The first words out of her mouth were that I had “disrespected her” by referring to her as Tokyo Ann.

For you youngins out there, here’s a bit about Tokyo Rose whom I based my Tokyo Ann comment on:

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VLog: Hillary Clinton on homeland security

  . When studying the varied presidential wannabees from both parties, and attending their campaign events one comes to appreciate the type refered to as a "town hall meeting" versus the more typical rally type of event. (click here for an overview of a town hall meeting as demonstrated by the master, McCain) . The town hall … Read more

What’s Healthcare gotta do with war?

   Is this Ghoulish? I was wondering about the word choice then actually pondering some of what this letter to the editor states and forgot about the word choice after I read the last paragraph: "We need to stop thinking in terms of killing and how to make us even more lethal. We need to think in … Read more

More on our Right-to-Know lawsuit…

  . As we continue to wait to find out if the words written in NH’s Right-to-Know law (RSA 91-A) actually mean what they say or not, another long-time citizen-activist of Laconia has weighed in with an observation that we can only hope the judge reads before rendering his final decision on our suit in Superior … Read more

Obama Campaign Conference Call: Stoneyfield’s Hirshbergs Endorse Obama

A conference call hosted by the Obama campaign has just concluded. It featured the announcement that well-known NH Democrats Gary and Meg Hirshberg have officially thrown their support to Barack Obama. This comes over their second choice of John Edwards in the current field- originally being with Tom Vilsack, who dropped out early on in … Read more

Try Opera

Did you know that Beverly Sills died? Who’s that, you say? I said the same thing 35 years ago since opera was just about the farthest thing from my mind. That was prior to someone giving me free tickets to attend one of her performances in Columbus, Ohio. I remember thinking at the time that the … Read more

Our Judy a troglodyte? Not hardly!

  Grokster Judy Paris appearing on MTNP . The staff here at GraniteGrok works very hard to bring thoughtful, somewhat biting commentary and observations to the readers. It was with that in mind that we invited Judy Paris to blog here at the ‘Grok. Ever since, we have been glad that we did. In addition to … Read more

The View? What’s Wrong With People?

  I used to watch The View once in awhile…well, until Rosie came on board and spouted her many over-the-top, completely implausible theories and became more and more obnoxious by the minute. Read about possible Rosie replacements for the much-coveted empty spot on The View here. Are people that starved for entertainment that they actually enjoy … Read more

What a deal!

    . Next time you feel bad for those poor state employees toiling away at their difficult jobs with little to no thanks or appreciation from the public, take heart in knowing that they will at least be getting a fairly decent raise. 10% in two years. . "Oh but Doug, the poor workers … Read more

Teen nails Hodes to the Wall!

You go girl! It seems Rep. Hodes may have met his match in a 16-year old’s insistence on answering her question: "So you favor a woman’s right to kill her unborn child?"  Read the story first, click here, and then let’s talk about things, ok? So, did Hodes answer the yes or no question with … Read more

Dope(s) of the Week. A Two-fer.

    NH DOT officials checking internal compliance & performance. . This week the judges here at GraniteGrok have decided to award our prestigious "Dope of the Week Award" to a pair of richly deserving recipients– both former NH DOT commisars commisioners. On the state DOT workers dumping hazardous materials on job sites and state … Read more

NHDOT Chiefs: It was the “culture” that made ’em do it…

    Today’s Concord Monitor provides an update on the hazardous waste dumping by state workers scandal as noted in this prior posting… MANCHESTER, N.H. (AP) — Current and former commissioners of the state Department of Transportation say culture is the underlying cause behind years of illegal dumping of hazardous waste. . [snip] . …interim … Read more

Yeah, but they paid a big “fine”…

  Following up on my earlier post about having local government implement energy (money) saving practices that reduce global-warming inducing emissions, I wanted to further expand on the point about the Carbon Coalition’s admonishment to the private sector. On Tuesday, they posted a piece on their blog that stated Holding our local businesses and corporations … Read more

Nobody leans on Sharky’s [Romney’s?] machine…

  Sharky: I’m gonna pull the chain on you, pal. And you wanna know why? ‘Cause you’re f*cking up my city. ‘Cause you’re walking all over people like you own them. And you wanna know the worst part? You’re from out of state I’ve been trying to step around this story, at first thinking it … Read more

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