News – Politics – Opinion – Podcasts
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
New Hampshire ranks as the freest state in North America, as measured in this year’s Economic Freedom of North America report, released today by the Josiah Bartlett Center for Public Policy in conjunction with Canada’s Fraser Institute. For the 24th time, New Hampshire is the freest state among all U.S. states, having scored 8.34 out of 10 … Read more
My six-year fight for government transparency, recognized by the Nackey S. Loeb and New England First Amendment Awards, exposed a cynical failure in the New Hampshire judicial system. My Right-to-Know (RTK) lawsuits sought critical records, from assessing records to an alleged fraudulent federal funding scheme for the Nashua Performing Arts Center, a matter serious enough that the federal government is … Read more
Beware of emails that you may get that look like this. This one was sent to us by one of our members. Forward the email to us and we will report it to the registrar and hosting server. Hi [recipient’s name redacted], I’m Sam, I’m representing an ADU builder in NH. I’m looking for people … Read more
Since at least 2000, our governors have knowingly usurped the Executive Council’s power to nominate judges. Courts are an essential branch of government, but we’ve learned the hard way that our rights are no longer sacrosanct in the NH courts. Nominating and appointing the best judges is critically important. The NH Constitution says that all … Read more
How the Supreme Court and the Legislature Illegally Seized Control of the Practice of Law — and Why Every Citizen Should Be Alarmed In 1967, without a single vote in the New Hampshire House or Senate, and without a single amendment to the State Constitution, the practice of law in the Granite State was quietly … Read more