News – Politics – Opinion – Podcasts
A few weeks back, I had the privilege of co-hosting Granite State Live. GraniteGrok has had a close relationship with the program since its inception, but this was the first time I had the opportunity to co-host. Not for lack of invites, mind you, but logistics and time on my side. Our second guest was … Read more
God bless our library watchdogs, like Beth Scaer, Cindy Bennett, and Arlene Quaratiello, just to name a few who have written multiple Grok pieces on libraries. I’ve tagged them in quite a few of my own library articles, but a hat tip to Beth for bringing a near future public comment opportunity to my attention. … Read more
Democratic rule under Governor Janet Mills has exchanged a surplus in Augusta for a huge fiscal deficit. In just the last six years, the Democrats have increased the budget 65% from $7 billion to more than $11.5+ billion. Remember, only about 1.4 million people are living in Maine. The current budget amounts to a tax … Read more
We have a “spending problem” at the Grafton County Complex, and transparency and open government have been non-existent since April 22, 2025, when Chairwoman Martha McLeod curtailed the viewing of Grafton County Commissioners’ meetings online. Is this why? A burdensome 9.41% tax increase of the Grafton County Budget (Fiscal Year…July 1, 2025 – June 30, 2026) is … Read more
In 2024, when Vermont property taxpayers were whacked with an average 14 percent year over year increase, with some communities seeing nearly 40 percent increases, nobody (or at least not enough) in the legislature asked if citizens could afford this. They just shrugged their shoulders and stuck us with the bill. Same as every year … Read more
I recently re-watched the brilliant film Interstate 60. If you haven’t seen it, put it on your to-watch list. One of the characters, Bob Cody (played by Chris Cooper), is a former advertising man who got sick of lying all the time, and decided to spend the rest of his life promoting truth. Or more … Read more
Ronald Reagan once quipped that government is like a baby, an endless appetite on one end, and no discipline on the other. No place lives up to – or down to as the case may be — that analogy more so than Vermont. In case you missed it amongst all the hubbub and controversy surrounding … Read more
Last week, Moody’s Ratings lowered the United States credit rating. Fitch Ratings and S&P Global Ratings had already lowered the US rating. This new downgrade was driven by Congress’s failure to make any efforts to reduce the almost 37 trillion dollars national debt. When Moody’s made its announcement, the House Budget Committee was scrambling to … Read more
Let’s start by taking a look at this video of last night’s Finance committee meeting in Nashua, skipping to 1h18min where the mayor stokes discord and vitriol in the chamber against the federal government for cutting some of its funding to the PD and FD, particularly special equipment that also benefits communities outside Nashua. There … Read more
In late January, the Trump administration issued a series of executive orders that paused Treasury payments to a variety of federal contractors and grantees. These orders also often cancelled contracts with NGOS and other contractors altogether. Soon afterward, we began to see countless media stories about job losses at private NGOs and for-profit federal contractors. … Read more
What do the impending, across-the-board Trump administration and Congressional cuts to federal education, energy, and human services mean to Vermont? Ask this question to legislators and advocates in the State House and the response is like a Greek chorus chanting, ‘We don’t know, we don’t know, we don’t know.’ (Whether the play is a comedy … Read more
The Department of Governmental Efficiency (D.O.G.E.) reminds me of an old song titled “Who Let the Dogs Out”. The miracle of Google allowed me to review the lyrics! While President Trump and Elon probably would not approve of the lyrics, ironically, the title foreshadows the amazing accomplishments that D.O.G.E. has brought to the USA. The … Read more
Then NH House Rep. Cindy Rosenwald used to let out-of-state campaign workers use her home address to vote in Nashua. The Democrat then got herself a promotion when she was elected to the State Senate. This has addled her already questionable mental health, a problem she shares with her party in general. Democrats are nuts. … Read more
I remember becoming politically aware that our National Debt was rising and never seemed to take a pause. And I was one of the very few who cared while our DC denizens showed little or no concern regardless of party. And now? At one point, I said that we’d find ourselves, mathematically, unable to pay … Read more
Last Friday, House Republicans opened the first session of the 119th Congress by voting to keep Representative Mike Johnson (R-LA) on as Speaker of the House. Almost every Republican—including pro-establishment moderates, Trump loyalists, and even the “hardliners” that make up the fiscally conservative Freedom Caucus—fell in line behind Johnson. The one Republican who refused to … Read more
In response to Ron Willoughby, who is concerned about school spending in Haverhill, NH (“Haverhill Taxpayers-Are you happy?”, Caledonian-Record), he and every Grafton County resident/taxpayer should be deeply concerned about spending at the Grafton County Complex. While there is a minority of Republicans who make up the County Delegation and the Executive Committee, with every … Read more
Vermont voters screamed that affordability is the number one issue we want the legislature to address in 2025. While lawmakers have little control over what we pay for eggs and hamburger, what they do have control over – total control over at the state level — is what we pay in taxes, fees, and regulatory … Read more
In 2024, the Green Mountain State saw education costs, aka property taxes, rise more than 13%. All while academic performance continued to decline. The 13% rise could have been higher had the tax rate not been bought down with one-time funds. The low staff/student ratio, increased compensation costs, the Legislature’s incentivizing local school spending, and … Read more
Following this morning’s alert on getting a school budget tax cap approved, I bring you another throne in the SAU and School board’s “paw.” Al Brabdabo has proposed, in the town of Kensington, a warrant to be voted on that would approve an audit of the SAU’s accounting practices. To be conducted by an accredited … Read more
Upon his inauguration as president, Donald Trump will become the leader of a United States executive branch mired in two major wars via its continuing pumping of money, weapons, and intelligence into support of the Ukraine and Israeli governments. Trump has declared his opposition to the continuation of these wars. But how can he end … Read more