News – Politics – Opinion – Podcasts
“Now for the rest of the story,” as Paul Harvey used to say. Our tale resumes in the pivotal year of 1967. The Bar Association of the State of New Hampshire (BASNH), a creature born of the Legislature 94 years earlier and still a purely voluntary association, appeared before the General Court with a seemingly … Read more
This week on the NE Take, NH Rep. Paige Beauchemin, RN, PMH-C, is running for Congress against fellow Democrat, Congresswoman Maggie Goodlander. She and A. J. dive into the progressive v. establishment fight in the party and why she is running to unseat Goodlander. Speakers’ opinions are their own and may not represent those of … Read more
It has recently come to the attention of many members of our legislature that a big national war chest has been made available to the enemy camp in Concord. Many members have already taken to social media with requests for donations to (committees to elect) Team Red in both chambers and campaign coffers of their … Read more
Stop Panicking About Your Assessment This week on The Independents, with Caral Gericke, Property taxes in New Hampshire spark more panic than an unexpected October snowstorm—but most of it stems from misunderstanding how assessments actually work. Speakers’ opinions are their own and may not represent those of Grok Media, LLC, GraniteGrok.com, its sponsors, readers, authors, … Read more
Someone mentioned to me recently that Rep. Hope Damon has introduced a bill to change the way school superintendents are credentialed. It’s classic Damon: Some parts of the bill refer to other sections of the bill that don’t exist. And the bill makes no reference to the Ed Rules that already exist. The bill reads like … Read more
A Voluntary Beginning Rooted in Legislative Charter In my previous pieces for Granite Grok—”An Open Letter to the People of New Hampshire” and “The Quiet Coup That Stole New Hampshire’s Legal Profession“—I delved into the current state of affairs within our state’s legal system, highlighting concerns over how power has shifted and consolidated in ways … Read more
We can’t imagine why Governor Ayotte, after promising not to ‘Mass Up New Hampshire’, signed several bills that would allow predatory developers from out of state to start soliciting homeowners in neighborhoods that were formerly zoned single-family with offers to help turn those neighborhoods into rental zones. Make no mistake, these companies are not interested … Read more
In the bustling marketplace of New Hampshire politics, the Republican Party (NHGOP) often resembles a frustrated store owner, pacing behind the counter, watching potential customers browse the shelves with skepticism. These customers, the grassroots voters, everyday conservatives driven by principles of limited government, fiscal responsibility, and transparency, aren’t just window shopping. They’re searching for something … Read more
In the Granite State, where political independence runs as deep as the White Mountains, a simmering divide threatens to fracture the Republican coalition just as the 2026 midterms loom on the horizon. On one side stands the New Hampshire GOP (NHGOP) establishment, polished, pragmatic, and focused on electability. On the other, a burgeoning grassroots movement, … Read more
There are very few situations in which being fat is anything other than a problem with impulse control. Combined with decades of bad food science pushed by the government and the reality that the cheap food, like cheap everything else, is at the bottom of every quality pyramid, getting and staying fat is easy. Losing … Read more
A Constitutional Crisis in Plain Sight Fellow Citizens, The New Hampshire Constitution begins with the clearest possible declaration of why government exists: to secure the life, liberty, property, and character of every individual. In Part I, Article 35, our founders placed upon the judiciary the solemn duty to deliver an “impartial interpretation of the laws” … Read more
It’s been a while since Ian Underwood has published a Bare Minimum Book. And now we have two! Just in time for the holidays. Rethinking Fun in Education and Slouching Towards Concord. New book 1:Rethinking Fun in Education This third book in the Rethinking Education trilogy argues that schools have morphed into de facto community centers, in … Read more
This is not a Louisa May Alcott book, but a call to action. You don’t need to vote in District 2 to answer the call because the action item is to RECRUIT someone in District 2 to primary Senate Ways & Means chair Tim Lang, the namesake of the 2022 Gunstock Lang Gang. You might … Read more
Why the Executive Council Must Reclaim Its Constitutional Role in Judicial Selection New Hampshire’s Constitution has never been ambiguous about judicial appointments. For more than two centuries, the process has been a shared power: the NH Constitution provides that the Governor and the Executive Council share responsibility for nominating and appointing Judges and Justices. It … Read more
And it was massively inappropriate for kids… This week on the NE Take, A. J. breaks down the “issue” of “The Perks of Being a Wallflower” being removed from Merrimack Valley High School curriculum and how it is great that it happened. Speakers’ opinions are their own and may not represent those of Grok Media, … Read more
I have the pink plastic champagne glass from Augusta Petron’s memorial service on the top of the bookshelf behind me. It’s a piece of NH Political history and a reminder of a wonderful human being. Sometimes you can see it in the background of my podcast (GrokTALK!) or the Morning Update, depending on how I … Read more
Remember that Janet Jackson song What Have You Done For Me Lately? It’s a tune from my teenage years that comes to mind when I think of our Senate Judiciary committee, the body that rubber-stamped HB1002 last year during Queen Sharon’s (committee) leadership and also got that judge-retirement-age question on the ballot. Yeah, we’ve had … Read more
A little over a month ago, we discussed the superficiality of policy debates in New Hampshire in Tax Foundation Rates New Hampshire #3 … So What? … should New Hampshire’s tax policy be to achieve as high a rating as possible on the Tax Foundation’s “competitive index”? The Governor, the local Koch organization, and GOP State … Read more
The City of Nashua has been spiralling downward in an epic political shitshow for a number of years, coincidental to the reign of its current Mayor for life, Jim Donchess. It is cloistered, inefficient, and untransparent. At the same time, it wastes millions more taxpayers’ dollars on legal fights to prevent citizens from ensuring government … Read more
Maine stole our land when we weren’t looking. The historical evidence is overwhelming and clear. For almost 300 years, the Granite State’s northern border ran down through the Piscataqua River, snaked across Maine’s Portsmouth Harbor shoreline, then bisected the Isles of Shoals. New Hampshire’s borders embraced the entire harbor, including Badger’s Island, Seavey’s Island, and … Read more