Ethics Archives - Granite Grok

ORTOLANO: The Judge Said Ethics Matter. Then He Dismissed My Case

April 28, 2026 Laurie Ortolano

When a Judge Tells You to Go Be Political Seven and ½ months. That is how long a single ethics complaint has been waiting to be screened by the City of Nashua’s Ethics Review Committee. Not read. Not decided. Not ruled on. Just sitting. The only complaint. Waiting. And when I finally brought that failure … Read more

ORTOLANO: Power Without Ideology

March 27, 2026 Laurie Ortolano

Nashua’s Selective Enforcement of “Shall” There’s a phrase often attributed, loosely and somewhat inaccurately, to Karl Marx: power without ideology. Whether or not Marx ever said it in those exact words, the concept is unmistakable: power exercised without consistent principle, without accountability, and without any obligation to apply rules evenly. That idea is playing out in real time … Read more

ROPER: Nothing’s Funnier Than Politicians Discussing Ethics Legislation

March 14, 2026 Rob Roper

Vermont ranks low when it comes to political ethics accountability. According to the Coalition for Integrity’s S.W.A.M.P. (States With Anti-Corruption Measures for Public Officials), Vermont ranks in the bottom ten nationally. The Center for Public Integrity gives us a D-. The general reasoning behind the bad grades is we have few rules governing our politicians’ … Read more

ORTOLANO: Part 4 – The ERC Screening Process That Never Occurred

March 17, 2026March 11, 2026 Laurie Ortolano

On September 14, 2025, I filed an ethics complaint against Nashua Alderman Derek Thibeault. The complaint was straightforward: three pages identifying a single alleged ethics violation. Under the Nashua Revised Ordinances governing the Ethics Review Committee (“ERC”), complaints are first reviewed in a screening meeting. The purpose of that meeting is limited. The committee determines whether the complaint: … Read more

ORTOLANO: Part 3 – When The Price of Accountability Requires a Lawsuit

March 10, 2026 Laurie Ortolano

Transparency should not require a lawsuit. Yet in Nashua, the only way to force the ERC to follow its own ordinance has been to ask a court to intervene. When internal oversight systems stop working, citizens are left with a simple choice: Accept the dysfunction, or challenge it. I attempted to resolve my concerns through … Read more

ORTOLANO: PART 2 – Ethics in Name Only

March 9, 2026 Laurie Ortolano

When Ethics Systems Protect Power An ethics system reveals its true character when it investigates those at the top. Anyone can enforce rules against minor officials or low-level employees. The real test comes when allegations involve political leadership. I can assure you that the test has not inspired much confidence. Over the past several years, … Read more

41 Shall Callout graphics ERC 2026-03-06 at 10.00.32 AM

ORTOLANO: PART 1 The “Shall” Illusion

March 8, 2026 Laurie Ortolano

When Rules Are Optional in Nashua Sunshine Week is supposed to celebrate the public’s right to understand what their government is up to. But in Nashua, transparency feels more like a suggestion than the rule it is intended to be. The city’s Ethics Review Committee (ERC) was created to hold public officials accountable. Its governing … Read more

Ethics in Government – Charting the Right Course

June 12, 2024 Op-Ed

Before beginning a discussion of ethics in municipal government, we must understand what ethics entails. Ethics, by definition, is the discipline dealing with what is good and bad: a set of moral principles or values, the principles of conduct governing an individual or a group, a guiding philosophy based on right and wrong.

Democrat Cinde Warmington’s Huge Conflict of Interest “Problem”

June 4, 2024 Steve MacDonald

With His Excellency retiring from the governor’s office, New Hampshire Democrats are hoping this is their opportunity to take the office back. Before Sununu, they’d had a lock on it for many years, except for the Craig Benson hiccup (one two-year term).

DCYF – So When You Demand That I Do Something Illegal, I’ll Make It Public.

August 13, 2023 Skip

Because that’s what I do. Heck, and it isn’t just singling out that agency – I am a universal hater of folks that either 1) don’t follow their own policies (hmm, I have another set of RTKs to follow up on), or 2) deliberately don’t Follow The Law. It’s just isn’t DCYF – they’re just … Read more

“This Is a War about the Role of Government”

April 1, 2022 Steve MacDonald

You might remember Dr. Julie Ponesse. She is a professor of ethics in Canada who had a viral video last fall. She was forced out of her job of 20 years by the vaccine mandate imposed by Huron University in Ontario.

Hon. Linda Rea Camarota, RN – We Have Been Robbed of Scientific Debate

December 27, 2021 Op-Ed

What is natural immunity? As a child, did you have chickenpox? If you did as I did, there is no fear of another chickenpox viral infection. Granted, SARS-Cov-2 (Severe acute respiratory syndrome) is not a naturally occurring virus so not all established infectious disease practices apply.

A Professor of Ethics on The Ethical Dilemma of Employer Mandated Vaccination …

December 16, 2024September 13, 2021 Steve MacDonald

Ethics professor Dr. Julie Ponesse, days before classes start, was given an ultimatum. Get vaccinated or do not report for work. And today she is going to teach us “on the universally accepted ethics of coercing people into medical procedures.:

SAU16/Exeter: A Culture of Discrimination, Intimidation and Civil Rights Violations

August 13, 2021June 18, 2021 Ann Marie Banfield

After attending both school board meetings in SAU16 this week, one thing is obvious; there is a toxic culture within the walls of this school district. A culture that needs change immediately.

How Did Five Different News Outlets “Independently” Source The Same Lie about Trump and the Nov. Election?

March 17, 2021 Steve MacDonald

Hats off to Matt Margolis at PJ Media from whose text I lifted my headline because it says it all. Yesterday we reminded you that WashPO made up the story about President Trump pressuring the Michigan Secretary of State. The same is true for the Georgia story.

New Hampshire Democrat Chris Pappas Lied to Your Face

October 25, 2020 Steve MacDonald

New Hampshire Congressman Chris ‘Norovirus‘ Pappas (D – NH) lied. Not in passing or in an off-handed way. He wasn’t on a hot-mic. He decided to “Resist” the Truth. He lied during a debate. Flat out lied. About what?

Do Morals and Ethics Shape Policy?

September 13, 2020

Have you ever heard a politician say, “In the next election I will support whatever policies the polls tell me are most likely to get me elected”? Think about it for just a second. I bet you haven’t. If a candidate did say something like that, wouldn’t you find it distasteful? It would exhibit a lack of character.

Who Understands Islam?

May 22, 2020

Who understands Islam and where should information about Islam come from? A common error made about Islam in progressive society is: You cannot read the Koran and understand it. Oddly, both Muslims and Kafirs (non-muslims) seem to accept the assertion, most without questioning it.

Petition to Stop Hateful, Bigoted Nashua Rep from Being Censured

January 6, 2020 Kimberly Morin

You may recall a recent post in which NH House Representative Deb Stevens (Nashua) was outed for her hatred, vitriol and bigotry towards Trump supporters. In case you missed her post on her public, official NH Representative page: Well, it seems many people across the state, and not just in her district, saw this outrageous … Read more

Did Democrat Majority Decide Doug Ley is Too Stupid to be Found Guilty of Ethics Violations?

November 9, 2019November 8, 2019 Steve MacDonald

In keeping with New Hampshire House Democrat ‘discipline’ of House Democrats, Majority Leader Douglas Ley just walked away from a significant ethics violation without a scratch.