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GraniteGrok

GrokTV Event – CNHT in review – Jason Rink on the Nullification

The second speaker of the afternoon was Jason Rink who Skyped in (via the technical abilities from Grokster Mike!).  Associated with the Tenth Amendment movement, he directed and produced The Nullification Documentary –   Nullification: The Rightful Remedy. What do we do when the Federal Government steps outside of it’s constitutional boundaries? Do we ask … Read more

GrokTV Event – CNHT in review – The “Governors” edition!

When contemplating all of the videos, and doubtful that folks would want to see a post for each and every one, we’re going to follow a more functional approach.  This post contains all of the folks that spoke for the various candidates for NH Governor on the Republican & Libertarian tickets. Sidenote: strange; I am … Read more

GrokTV Event – CNHT in review – The “Congressional” edition!

At yesterday’s CNHT Annual Picnic, there were a number of folks running for US Congress (both of NH’s Congressional Districts) that wanted to get their name out there and try to convince some of the activists there “Hey, look!  You should back me!”.

In order of their speaking yesterday:

  

Congressman Charlie Bass (CD-2)                  Rick Parent (Candidate, CD-1)

More, MUCH more after the jump:

Previous posts:

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Er, this was a MUCH larger “lack of attention to detail” – Big Oops for Thaddeus McCotter

Thaddeus McCotter Blogger MeetingI have watched US Rep (er, now Former US Rep) Thaddeus McCotter on Fox News’ RedEye show – not often but seeing that is is normally on at a 3am time frame, let’s phrase it “sufficiently often”. He certainly posses a very dry sense of humor and a very quick wit.  He also came here to NH to speak at a few TEA Party events as well and other events (here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here); I found him to be very cerebral, more of a philosopher style person who wished to understand the foundations of an issues as well as the nits concerning it.  He did run this cycle for President but didn’t gain any traction and bowed out.

Unfortunately, not only did he not gain traction, but he’s now also lost his Congressional seat from Michigan – he failed to gather enough names on petitions to get on the ballot there and those that were turned in are being “examined” by the State Attorney General for validity (or not).

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If s/he does want to be referred to as a “he” or a “she”, is this a case of too much watching of “The Munsters”?

Is this the point at which the LGBT<XYZ> movement jumps the shark?  From The Corner (Mark Steyn):

George Leef over at NRO’s PhiBetaCons had a teasing link to this exciting news earlier today:

Harvard has appointed Vanidy “Van” Bailey as the College’s first permanent director of bisexual, gay, lesbian, transgender, and queer student life. Bailey, the assistant director for education at the University of California, San Diego, will assume the new position on July 16.

Alas, this long overdue shattering of the BGLTQ ceiling was marred by The Harvard Crimson’s grossly insensitive coverage:

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GrokTV Event: CNHT (Coalition of NH Taxpayers) annual

We are here at the Hillsborough American Legion hall for CNHT’s annual “Old Home Day” for Conservative / Libertarian / Right of Center activists.  Full slate of folks will be speaking and we’ll be live streaming as long as no one kicks out the Ethernet wire! Live video from your Android device on Ustream Please … Read more

Well, it looks like Teachers Unions are starting to lose more and more….

First in Wisconsin and now in Colorado.  In a post at Townhall:

The Douglas County School District, a suburban community south of Denver, Colorado, has decided to part ways with their teachers’ union in the absence of progress on a new contract which expired June 30th, 2012.

“The Board of Education finds and declares that the Collective Bargaining Agreements between the District and the Unions,” said the district on July 3rd in its formal resolution dissolving the bonds between the union and the district, “which had been effective from July 1, 2011 through and including June 30, 2012, are now expired and of no legal effect whatsoever.”

The dissolution between the district and the union is unprecedented  and sources close to the union tell me that unions are pensively watching, worried that other districts around Colorado and the country could take the same action as Douglas County has.

We can only hope.

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For the accident by a few, there will be those that will seek to punish us all

OK, Steve beat me to it here, but I had my own thoughts of the accident in Pelham that I started on last night but as you will read, similar.

There will be those out there that will react in horror to what I am about to write ( “BUT CHILDREN GOT HURT – BADLY!”).  The news is coming out from Pelham that 11 people were hurt when a years long homeowner’s fireworks tradition went awry.  The latest from both NECN (New Englan Cable News) and WMUR says that two children were severely burnt and medflighted to Boston.  Of COURSE this is a tragedy, but I grimaced when I heard the Fire Chief’s pronouncement:

I’m not a fan of fireworks.  This is a perfect example [of] what can go wrong.  Well meaning people trying to have fun and an accident happened and caused a great deal of injuries to children and adults.”

The NECN newscaster said what I expected about Chief Midgley of the Pelham Fire Department:

He wants to work with lawmakers to make sure this never happens again.

Of course he does.  Again, this has been a long standing tradition of this homeowner, and thus far, no news accounts have brought up any earlier accidents.  No one else in Pelham had any reported serious injuries anywhere else in town (not that I’ve looked, but on the idea of “IF 1, then the news will report it as “AND! over here”).  But here it seems, the Chief has decided that it is his business to force all others to comply with his viewpoint and morality, and no longer let people decide for themselves.  Is that the role of an Government employee (no matter how good he is in performing that role)?  Is the purpose of an appointed employee to lobby the Legislature against what many voters want to be able to do?  And do it on TAXPAYER funding (isn’t there a law against that)?

Freedom.    Versus the Safety & Security (the first Commandment of the Nanny-Progressive State)

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Obamacare – Unleash the IRS – Now it gets personal

Conservatives have often said that Obamacare will fundamentally change the relationship between citizens and their Government.  With it being now declared as Constitutional, we may well no longer be citizens that have a Federal Government; we are now subjects as the Feds with the new regulations decreed by the Progressives and the IRS deemed to be the cop (as I posted here).

And it just bit me in the butt.  And it will change not just the relationship between the Govt and me, but also between me and my son.  And you all had better read this – it may well affect you as well.  In that previous post there were a number of things that individuals will have to cough up and “share”.

Sidenote: yeah, “share”.  Brings up the insinuation that you get to decide to share or not – you know, voluntary.  Just like when Democrats talk about the rich and “asking” them to pay their fair share.  They already are, and there is no “asking” – asking means the willingness to take “no” for an answer.  For the naive, there is no way that Obama, Reid, and Pelosi are “asking” – they are demanding.

I left out some really important information from that post concerning how the IRS would determine if YOU had to pay a penalty, as I thought it really needed it’s own post and an extremely personal touch on my life that it will now place.  From the Fox Biz post (reformatted and emphasis mine):

And it’s the intrusiveness of the health reform law that has raised eyebrows. What does the IRS base your mandate penalty on? This is where it gets nutty.

… that the “IRS will need to determine a taxpayer’s compliance with the individual [insurance] mandate and assess a penalty if coverage is inadequate.”  However, the penalty isn’t based on just your personal net income. The penalty will be based on an entirely different number that is more than just your paycheck earnings — your ‘household income.’  “This determination is based on a concept of ‘household income,’” TAO has said, adding, “this may differ from the income reported on the taxpayer’s return, because it is a composite of all of the income reported by members of a taxpayer’s household — information that may not be readily accessible to the IRS.”

Or me.  Again, the concept of “household income” absolutely turns the former relationship between me and the IRS.  My info was the IRS’s info – they’d look at it, see if I did all the right things, if I paid the right amount of tax,and would let me know if they had decided if I was right or if they were right.  But it was just me and just them – a singly based relationship.

No more:

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You know, if you’re gonna hold a protest sign…

…you ought to: Know what it says Know what it means Know how to explain it And when a guy with a camera asks you about all three, Know that keeping quiet makes you look stupid. My friend Tony Katz, from AllPatriotsMedia, was riding with the Americans for Prosperity bus tour called “Real Facts. Real … Read more

Fourth of July – celebrate the day that we declared our Independence from a King

Listen to our national anthem by Madison Rising:

We at the ‘Grok are thankful for the blessings that God have given us – indeed, without our Creator who has watched over this nation ’til now, we’d just be yet another country.  But He inspired, I believe, our Founders who laid the foundations of this great nation – and they freely acknowledged that Gift from Him: Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.  Inalienable Rights.  The radical idea that we were individuals, sovereign citizens, and not subjects.

We also thank those that have served our country in uniform, willing to put their lives on the line for hard work,  no fame and little money.  As a non-veteran (but double Blue Star Dad) I appreciate our veterans here at the ‘Grok more and more for not only their uniformed service:

  • Tim Condon (US Marines)
  • Rick Olsen (US Marines)
  • Mike Rogers (Royal Marines)
  • Don Ewing (Army)

But also for their continued allegiance to their oaths and their continued fight for the sake of Individual Liberty and Freedom.  See a Vet?  Give them a heartful “Thank You” – they have earned it.

We also remember on this Day in those that believed in that Founders Vision and in the principles on which it was grounded enough to give up their all on order to give us this day.

 

A rock version of the music video after the jump

(H/T: The Blaze)

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What’s a Fourth without parades?

I am awaiting some important phone calls so today, no parades for me (and I do like parades!).  However, Grokster Mike sends this one in from Amhearst:

Mike at Amhearst 4th of July parade 1

I know the person that built this – Bill Tobin of Sanborton.  A good man, proud of his country and proud of his state – representing the Great Seal of New Hampshire! (And, by the way, an Ovide supporter- that frame on the truck bed is about to sport a pair of Ovide signs)  Oh, and Mike found the center of the Obama – Biden contingent:

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A Fourth of July message to my fellow Groksters – and to our readers. And especially to those that just might be stopping by.

“I also wanted to mention the strange feeling that I awoke with today….and I share your sense of – not unease necessarily, but maybe  – resolve..?“

Words from my fellow Groksters that stirred me to write a message back:

My fellow Groksters,

There was a reason why each and everyone of you was chosen and asked to write for GraniteGrok.  I also believe that there was a reason why each and everyone of you said yes – you all realized that we ARE in a Cold Civil War, that “the strange feeling that I awoke with today” one that is “instinctive” and “palpable” are real.  I started this blogging schtick with Doug back in 2005 when it was just a novel way to get our rather opinionated opinions out there.  Now, I see that there was a Higher Purpose that yanked us into this place, and what we do now as the ‘Grok is probably far more important than what I ever thought.  Liberty and Freedom.

This July Fourth, we realize we are at a tipping point – a very important one.  We are in a fight for our Country’s future; the line has been drawn, and we either are those that just drift along or we respond that that “instinctive” and internal sense that something is awry.  If not us, then who?  Who will run to the ramparts to defend our Shining City on a Hill?  Who will stir themselves from the easy life and the easy way?  Who will say “I will put away the couch, the tv, the toys, and my family” and look deeper into their core to say “There is more; I am a descendent of our Minutemen – if not by blood but by that same love of country and Ideals”.  I will stand, not for the Old World based failed reasons that motivated my ancestors to leave the Old Country, but for the Rights given to me by my Creator.  I am that new Minuteman that refuses to give in to the Progressives that not only defend the Statism of that Old World but wish to entrench it here.  Millions have died to defend the philosophy expressed in the Declaration of Independence – yet, Progressives are fighting to redefine those words and ideas, turn them upside down, and say that they are the Patriots and we are the extremists.   They are the Fifth Column, the Trojan Horse, spreading rot within all of our institutions and Society.

But all of you Groksters and others that join with us in spirit (TEA Party, 9-12, constitutionally aware), are now are saying “You have gone far enough – and we will stop you”.  Some of you have already done your part; you took the oath, did the training, did the hard work, and literally fought for us.  We who stayed home did other things, vaguely aware that you were on the parapets standing guard and keeping us safe.  Yet, even with your tours long over, have come back to the fight once more.  Not with a gun (though you have such at the ready, with the spirit to lift it) but with keyboards, voices, and heart.  We who did not wear the uniform now join you in this different fight, side by side with you, ready to now do our part.

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What’s a Fourth without parades? Part 2

Mike, our intrepid “National Correspondent” (since he is constantly flying all over the country!) send in another pic, this time from the Merrimack Fourth of July parade:

Real cool antique truck –  Power Wagon!

He promises more to come – and here (Update) are some:

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Notable Quote – Frank Chodorov

On this day where we celebrate Freedom, a warning on those that would take it away: Perhaps it is an inner need that impels the socialist to his ideology, for I have never met an advocate of government intervention who did not admit, inadvertently, his own capacity for commissariat functions.  He always has a plan, … Read more

Obamacare – Unleash the IRS!

(H/T: cartoon from Lucianne)

Well, does Nancy P. remind you of the Wicked Witch?  Well, now that Obamacare has been judged constitutional, we all are going to be meeting up real closer now with our friendly neighborhood IRS dudes (reformatted and emphasis mine):

  •  The IRS now gets to know about a small business’s:
  • entire payroll
  • the level of their insurance coverage
  • Whether small businesses provide “affordable” coverage to workers as determined by Big Govt.
  • A “shared responsibility requirement” fines up to $2,000 per worker after the 50th person if insurance is deemed inadequate (which means you may have to tell your employer a lot of  personal / family info you never had to before
  • It gets to know information about you and your family:
  • the income of the primary breadwinner in your house
  • and your entire family’s income
  • Determining whether individuals buy “adequate” health coverage
  • Insurance plan information, including who is covered under the plan and the dates of coverage
  • The costs of your family’s health insurance plans
  • Whether a taxpayer had an offer of employer-sponsored health insurance;
  • The cost of employer-sponsored insurance
  • Whether you have received a premium tax credit
  • Whether you have an exemption from the individual responsibility requirement.
  • Whether or not you are subject to the Mandate / Tax penalty is based not on your income, but your household income.
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