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GraniteGrok

Live (Probably) From the HCRC Flag Day Picnic [Updated]

[Update 2] Still…nothing works, well–my laptop works. But we’ve got video. [Update] Nothing works…but I’m still trying to make it happen. Well….This is something of an experiment.   Let’s call it GrokTalk channel 2.  And if it works we’ll be Starting at 11:45 (ish). We will attempt to broadcast audio only today from the Hillsborough County … Read more

Internet Doodlings – Another taste of Enviros using “We know what is best for you” to mask totalitarianism

Heh!  But again, not so heh!  We laugh, but they mean it.  Over at TreeHugger (they have become such a source of sport!), they were discussing the righteousness of NYC-Nanny-Chieftain Mayor Bloomberg’s (whose own dietary predilections do not match his public policy for the rest of his “citizens”) declaration that he would solve the obesity problem of his haunts be making certain sizes of soda sold by NYC establishments off limits.  In a post entitled “More than Reasonable:

Last week, New York City showed the nation once again what it means to be on the cutting edge of public health policy. The city announced a bold plan to limit the size of sugary beverages sold at restaurants and other food establishments. Predictably, much of the media went crazy, and numerous outlets have already proclaimed that this time, Mayor Michael Bloomberg has just gone too far. Banning trans fats was fine, but don’t take away my right to guzzle a gallon of Coke is the lazy reaction of some pundits.

But let’s take a more rational look at what New York is proposing. From both a policy-making and political strategy standpoint, it makes perfect sense. No one is banning anything or restricting anyone’s freedoms. The city is simply placing a reasonable limit on how much soda (or other sugary beverage) can be served in a single container.

Cutting edge?  Bloomberg already went after salt (which he himself uses with wild abandon in a “fine for me but not for thee fashion”). Now, there is a study out that says cutting salt intake to such a level promulgated by the Feds could actually be dangerous.  There also is no definitive study on soda usage either.

The post also tried to slyly slip in what Goverment is doing is just what private business has done with serving sizes in the past (thus, trying to rationalize Bloomy’s actions):

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BE BREITBART – Heritage, Franklin to host Breitbart Awards

Politico (reformatted here, emphasis mine): The Heritage Foundation and Franklin Center for Government & Public Integrity will host an awards dinner this Friday in honor of Andrew Breitbart, the conservative firebrand who passed away earlier this year.  The first annual Breibart Awards dinner, which will take place in Providence, R.I., is part of the two … Read more

“Act of Valor” – Real heroes.

I am not a movie person – TMEW is, but not me.  But given what I read about Act of Valor, I was convinced that I wanted to see it.  Having missed it in the local theaters, I bought it.  Watching it right now.  It shows that the folks in the action scenes are real … Read more

Dispatch from Future of Journalism Summit – NetRoots Nation foray – GatewayPundit Jim Hoft “How will the dropping enthusiasm from WI affect the Nov. election?”

At the same time that Dana Loesch was asking her question, Samsphere blogger buddy Jim Hoft (Gateway Pundit)  also got in line “within the belly of the beast” to ask his question.  Abbreviated, I’m sure, as the panel’s time slot was already overlong.  His question: “The high enthusiasm level at the start of the recall … Read more

When it comes to Green Jobs, Obama Administration: “When I use a word, it means just what I choose it to mean”

From Alice in Wonderland: “When I use a word,” Humpty Dumpty said in rather a scornful tone, “it means just what I choose it to mean — neither more nor less.”

Well, I could easily say that the Obama Administration has been nonsensical in how it uses words (been listening to Jay Carney, his Press Secretary lately?), and in a lot of cases, be at least half right.  However, to be truthful, spin is non-partisan knowing no bounds on either side of the aisle.  But this is just pure political gold in nonsense in a vain attempt to pervert common sense by an Administration straining to live up to a promise simply by redefining redefinition of a classification of who does what.  Obama made a promise to create 5 million new Green Jobs – at times, with almost gay abandon (betcha THAT will rouse the Political Correctness Police – but isn’t it LGBT Month at the Obama Department of State this month?).  Looks like he’s hard up to fulfill that promise, eh?

Like: someone who pumps gas into a school bus is counted as a Green Job?  Is that really what the Obama Admin wants a “green job” to mean?  Sheesh, and I thought that fossil fuels were THE ENEMY?  Something to be hated and done away with?  So, someone who actually SELLS oil / gas – that’s now a Green Job?  Does that mean that soon, the Gulf will be soon getting Obama’s blessing, and the oil and gas industry will flourish again (after all, that Green Job pumping gas into the school bus can’t do his job without theirs’)?

(H/T: Hot Air (and lots of other places)) – longer version can be watched here.

I think I have to go Google this – am betting that the Sierra Club has something to say about this!

What is amusing is to watch a grown man, who in other setting might be seen as a ‘serious fellow’, squirming knowing that there is absolutely no come back for Congressman Issa’s questions.  A process by which should have you, loyal reader, thinking – what other stupidity is in there that bureaucracy thinks is “highbrow” and “an ultimate thought”?

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Occuppy Wall Street – if you’ve lost Harvard….

Frankly, Occupy Wall Street has pretty much left Occupy Wall Street (with, perhaps, the lone exceptions being San Francisco and Oakland as the only sites still making national news once in a while).  This did catch my eye – as there was an abortive attempt at Hahvahd University to have an Occupy outpost there as … Read more

Racists you say? Who’s the racist??

  Again, Liberals / Progressives / Pragmatists have one huge, obvious failure: consistency across issues.  This shows it quite easily.   Oh yes,  note that new word – Pragmatist.  They wore out Progressive last century,  switched to Liberal (but keeping the same policies and stances) and are NOW trying to switch to another word to … Read more

The Left: if you do not agree with us, WE WILL BEAT YOU UP!

Gee, how often has this been happening in Wisconsin lately?  I caught wind of this from The Blaze: “Man Allegedly Beaten After Removing Democrat Political Signs Placed in His Yard Without Permission”  but my Samsphere blogger friend Jim Hoft over at Gateway Pundit (who The Blaze referenced), has a MUCH better description for the malfeasance:

Democrat Judicial candidate Ernestina CruzSupport Democrat Ernestina Cruz

Or get a concussion.

Your choice.

The story from Taos, NM:

 

Summary (Jim’s accounting after the jump):

  • Democrat supporters put their signs in a yard without asking permission from the homeowner
  • Homeowner comes home, removes signs from yard, tries to return them
  • Democrat supporters beat him up in front of wife and son for “removing THEIR signs”
  • Candidate Ernestina Cruz says it was ““unfortunate” that Cunnyngham removed signs that “did not belong to him.”

So, Private Property Rights ONLY accrue to the Democrats’ signs?  What about the yard?  Sure, the guy wasn’t home when they decided to “stick it to him” the first time – didn’t the thought of “maybe we ought not to do this?” go through their heads?  Sounds like, at the least, poor event planning – which these supporters decided to double down and just use this guy’s property to support their gal.

And even worse, when he politely tries to return the signs, beat him to a pulp?  Double down redux.

The worst part of this, however, is that this is someone running to BE A JUDGE and she zeros on “HOW DARE HE MOVE MY SIGNS”?  As US Supreme Court Judge Sonia Sotomayer may have put it – another “wise Latina”.  Equity?  Equality?  Blind Justice?  No – selfishness and entitlement (as in “I get to use / take your stuff as long as I know I have a better use for it”).

In other words, if I have better use for your property, I’ll fight you for it without an apology.

A typical Democrat.

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College Kids – getting the first bruntal financial slap by Obamacare

Remember, the HHS mandate by Secretary Sebelius was that even the healthcare insurance at Catholic universities (Franciscan University and Ave Maria University) had to offer contraceptives, abortifacients, sterilizations, and abortions – after all, it wasn’t an abridgement of conscience that was being sundered but that if they didn’t, Catholics theology was waging “the war on women”.

However, this is the flip side of Obamacare “war on the young” – the young are going to start bearing the brunt of the costs as all of the “mandates needed for basic healthcare needs” start rearing their spikes (from the Wall Street Journal):

 Some colleges are dropping student health-insurance plans for the coming academic year and others are telling students to expect sharp premium increases because of a provision in the federal health law requiring plans to beef up coverage.

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Scraping the bottom of the barrel, Progressives – their newest GOTV: “Rock the Slut Vote”

You Might Be A Slut GirlOy vay! Sluts-o-rama time again!  We’ve previously posted about the word “sluts” for a bit here (here, here, here, here, here, here), ever since Sandra Fluke decided that having others pay for those items that give her “freedom” to exercise her sexual activities (other peoples’ freedom to conscience, religious liberty, and the Right to their own Private Property not withstanding).

Well, this post by Steve should set the table for this current post, as once again, it is about voting sluts.  No, not a Slut political Party trying to be formed, or that Conservatives should be scared that Sluts are being rounded up to vote against them.  Rather, it is an aging boomer, trying to rally “sluts” a la the tired MTV ever present “Rock the Vote,” to sign up college kids to go vote against their own interests (in the long run).  I present “Rock the Slut Vote” (note the URL: WarOnWomen – catchy, eh?) with the tag line of  “We believe women who unite and vote will rock the world.”

But only if you are a slut? After the jump is a list, a la Jeff Foxworthy’s “You might be a redneck if” on who is a slut.  Yikes!

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Communism – alive and well in the US; the State of Connecticut is giving them money and the AFL-CIO SuperPAC uses one of their names

Updated and Bumped:   It seems that people in CT, especially Veterans Groups, were as upset with this as I was (reformatted for space, some emphasis mine):

Sen. Suzio Declares Victory for Vets & Taxpayers after Gov. Pulls Controversial New Haven Bond Item

State Sen. Len Suzio (R-Meriden) today issued the following statement after Gov. Dannel P. Malloy pulled from the State Bond Commission’s agenda a controversial measure to give $300,000 in state money to a communist-led nonprofit in New Haven.  “When you push hard, fight for what’s right and keep the drumbeat going, you get results. “Earlier this year, we were told we would never be able to cap the state’s rising gas tax. Many thought we would give up, yet we made that happen. “Today’s action by the governor proves that when people are given leadership and a voice, they cannot be denied.  “To the scores of taxpayers – especially the many veterans groups – who spoke out against this bond item: Congratulations. Your voices were heard.  “You spoke out against giving $300,000 of your money to refurbish the headquarters for the Communist Party in Connecticut. You called the governor’s office. You wrote letters to the editor. You rallied in front of the organization, waving flags and patriotic signs.  “Without your voices, this item would have passed. You sent a message today. You got results. Thank you.”

*****

We fought the Cold War against this totalitarian ideology that killed between 50 and 75 million of their own citizens.   Yet, given the proclivities of Democrat Party to push this country away from our Founders vision and towards socialism anyways, why am I not surprised at the actions of the Democrat Governor of Connecticut is sending them taxpayer money (emphasis mine):

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GrokTV Special Interview: Josh Youssef for NH State Senate. Question 4: Devolvement of power back to the local level from Concord? And unfunded mandates?

To a large degree, the voters kicked out the extreme spending Democrats in 2010 and decided that Republicans would be better at governing the State.  Part of what the Republicans have done is to try to return power, that the Democrats gathered into Concord, back to local communities.  I asked Josh about his stance on … Read more

The unions have been defining “the Middle Class” as themselves – so what happens when members become UMINOs?

UMINOs – Union Members in Name Only (e.g., still belonging to the Union, but no longer paying the dues?)

I saw this a couple of days ago and didn’t blog it then because I got distracted.  However, I think it is a very important turning point in the Union political battles and that it shows a major chink in the vaunted “Solidarity Forever!” that is constantly blasted out in the political and cultural realms.  Frankly, this gives lie to the union yell of “Mighty, Mighty Union!” we hear at protests – the only takeaway from this news is now going to be “Mighty, Mighty Poorer!”.

I think this is rather amusing myself – after all the trouble and money spent by Unions all over the country as Right To Work efforts have become law in several states (alas, not here in NH because of some squishy Republicans not understanding that they were actually keeping their political foes strong and flush with political funds from their members’ dues by not following Gov. Scott Walker’s example in this).  And of course, the most well known state is that of Wisconsin where the Left is going all in AGAIN to try to stop “the destruction of the unions by Republicans!”.

This is just laughable – as they have a much more serious problem (as reported by the Wall Street Journal (paywall) via American Thinker).  Solidarity?  Not so much – given the chance, given the Freedom to Choose (after all, what IS freedom but the ability to choose among alternatives and letting someone choose something that satisfies their own needs and self-interests?), union members are choosing to not pay their union bills (emphasis mine):

Wisconsin membership in the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees-the state’s second-largest public-sector union after the National Education Association, which represents teachers-fell to 28,745 in February from 62,818 in March 2011, according to a person who has viewed AFSCME’s figures. A spokesman for AFSCME declined to comment.

Much of that decline came from AFSCMECouncil 24, which represents Wisconsin state workers, whose membership plunged by two-thirds to 7,100 from 22,300 last year.

A provision of the Walker law that eliminated automatic dues collection hurt union membership. When a public-sector contract expires the state now stops collecting dues from the affected workers’ paychecks unless they say they want the dues taken out, said Peter Davis, general counsel of the Wisconsin Employment Relations Commission.

In many cases, AFSCME dropped members from its rolls after it failed to get them to affirm they want dues collected, said a labor official familiar with AFSCME’s figures. In a smaller number of cases, membership losses were due to worker layoffs.

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I can agree with John Hawkins on these!

‘Grok friend John Hawkins from RightWingsNews has a list of 20 things that he, as a Conservative, believes in for his latest TownHall column.  Here’s a few of my Likes – but as always, GRTWT:

1) Any illegal alien caught in this country should be forever barred from legally visiting this country, working here, or becoming an American citizen.

18) The whole purpose of our immigration system should be to benefit the Americans who are already here. Therefore, we should favor the best and brightest emigrants from Western cultures. Other immigrants to this country who get in because of family ties should have someone who’s willing to vouch for them and take care of them if they have hard times. No naturalized American citizens should ever be eligible for food stamps, welfare, school lunches, or any other hand-outs from their fellow citizens.

I don’t care that the reason is to feed his family back home or to provide a better future for their kids (what father or mother wouldn’t if the DREAM act is codified into law?).  If the first act of coming to this country is to flagrantly flount our laws, you do not deserve to be here.  I know too many who have spent the time, money, and heartache to go through our LEGAL immigration system properly (including Grokster Mike who is getting close to being a naturalized citizen!!!) to EVER countenance illegal immigration.

We can thank Ted “The Swimmer” Kennedy for changing the rules that Society became responsible for immigrants instead of sponsors or families.  We should go back to 1965 and revoke that change.

2) If you take welfare or food stamps or if your kids have to get free meals at school, you should be ashamed. Your kids should feel ashamed by your failure, too.

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