Week Ending Jan 6 2013 Blog Post Roundup

Posted on January 7, 2013 by Steve Mac Donald

I do not cross post everything I write at GraniteGrok so for those who do not follow the links back to the source, here is a round up of posts from the past week.

 

Steve has been recognized as the Americans For Prosperity Blogger of the month for December 2012
Steve Mac Donald has been recognized as the AFP December Blogger of the month

Steve Mac Donald


Blogger/Editor- GraniteGrok.com 
email: steve@granitegrok.com

Twitter – @nhstevemacd
Facebook.com/nh.steve

Posted in Local NH Politics | Leave a comment

This Isn’t Sexist?

Posted on January 7, 2013 by Steve Mac Donald

Hypocrisy from the left is always on my radar and let me tell you–my radar is always beeping.  Take this for example.  Just imagine if former Senator John Sununu (or any man anywhere) had said this…
Keep the New Hampshire Delegation in men’s hands.
I can smell the tar boiling from here.  So who has the feathers?
But it is perfectly acceptable for Daily Kos to lead it’s fawning article about New Hampshire’s female delegation with this.
We should re-elect Senator Shaheen because she is a woman?
This may be the double-standard of measure but it should not, even when filtered through the dirty malformed cultural lens of the left, make it any less sexist than if someone with a penis had evoked its misogynistic equivalent.

But then the now famous New Hampshire Female delegation is littered with double standards.

Carol Shea-Porter has said more than her fair share of stupid things and insulting men.  And after the 2010 election, which she lost to Frank Guinta, she never (NEVER) called Mr. Guinta to congratulate him on his victory.   I believe Mr. Guinta called to congratulate her that night when she defeated him this past November.  How does that work when the shoe is on the other foot?

Ann Kuster forcibly took someone’s camera from them at a public event when they tried to ask her some questions, and even swore at them.   I know, I know, a Democrat swearing and seizing private property is not all that surprising but what if it was a man taking a camera from a woman?  Scandal!  Drop out or resign you cad!

Governor Hassan, as candidate Hassan, agreed on video that it would be a good idea to ‘beat Republicans with a bat, with your feet, with your hands’ before a room full of smiling, laughing Democrats.  If you consider that the state Democrat party was plying a “Bringing civility to Concord” narrative at the time, the observant political pundit might question the obvious contradiction.  They might also ask if she meant that it would be ok to beat Republican men, women, homosexuals, or minorities?  Democrats would have made all those connections in a heart beat if a Republican (man) had been so agreeable to the suggestion.
And when an elected female rep (Cynthia Chase) recently declared a willingness to write laws to intentionally restrict the freedoms of political opponents…we get silence.  Is that because they agree with her?

These double standards apply to everything the left does (regardless of sex) including the uneven application of the law, the unbalanced spending, the crony politics, the false moral superiority, the cultural inequality, the purposeful division.  An offhand sexist reference is just more noise in the cultural wind.
Note: I am counting the seconds before some moon-bat calls me a misogynist just for bringing it up.

But I am not interested in whether my elected representatives are male or female.  I am looking for people who express more interest in keeping authority and tax dollars from leaving the state than they are in looking for creative ways to bring it to DC first so they can then take credit for navigating the otherwise impenetrable bureaucracy they erected to keep us from it; who then demand accolades for helping bring money back to the state that would have served us better had it never left.  And have you noticed that it always seems to come back pinpointed to their best political advantage?

I am looking for politicians who go to Washington to defend us from the federal government instead of negotiating the terms of our surrender.  Sadly, the only woman in our “all woman” delegation who might even think that way three days out of five is Republican Kelly Ayotte.

These Democrat women, to the last, are not just disconnected from the idea of a Federal Republic and state sovereignty, they view those ideas as barriers to their accumulation of power.  They are more interested in charging us more for the privilege of their connections in the nations capital than leaving us to make decisions closer to home.  They are more concerned about how to play the game of thrones for sound bites and photo-ops that catalogue the appearance of action, than in acting in the best interests of those who elected them to office.

These are people who prefer a centrally planned, top down, statist economy.   People willing to use their gender, and to have their gender used for political advantage.  Why else the double standard?  “How dare you question my vote, or my competence, or my intentions.  You must be intimidated by women you misogynist pig.”

It is always about leverage and intimidation with Democrats and they will happily use women if it advances their agenda.  Even if they have to appear sexist to do it.

You are reading  “This Isn’t Sexist?”   by  Steve Mac Donald originally posted at GraniteGrok.com (Home)

Steve has been recognized as the Americans For Prosperity Blogger of the month for December 2012
Steve Mac Donald has been recognized as the AFP December Blogger of the month

Posted in Local NH Politics | Leave a comment

Rush Limbaugh Mentions Me On The Air.

Posted on January 5, 2013 by Steve Mac Donald

This goes into the “Wow that’s kind of cool category.”  Today Rush Limbaugh mentioned me by name.  I didn’t hear it but Skip called me from the road, and he was pretty darn excited for me.

Rush was reporting on the Breitbart post that Warner Todd Huston put up linking to my GraniteGrok post about Democrat Cynthia Chase.  So I give all the credit for Warner.  Thanks for sharing.  I got a serious kick out of being mentioned on the most listened to radio show in America.

But I have to wonder, as people give me digital high-fives and attaboys, just how much street-cred does this give to Ms. Chase?  My earnest hope is that the weight of her remarks humbles her into reevaluating her worldview, but seeing as she is a New Hampshire Democrat the NHDP will probably give her an award and throw her a party for having Limbaugh call her out.

Such is the nature of the divide.   Accused of Legislative Tyranny –Way to go Progressive Girlfriend!

Meanwhile,  it is only January 4th.  I’ve been linked to on Breitbart and Rush Limbaugh has quoted me on the air.  Not a bad start to 2013.  (And I was just awarded AFP’s blogger of the month for December 2012).  I can’t say I expect the rest of the year to be more interesting but I’ll keep writing and sharing as I always do and whatever happens, happens.

(Transcript on the jump -MP3 available later.)

Rush Limbaugh –

“NH Democrat seeks to restrict Freedoms of conservatives“

January 04, 2013
BEGIN TRANSCRIPT

RUSH: “A New Hampshire legislator wants her constituents to know that she feels conservatives are the ‘single biggest threat’ her state faces today, and she wants to use her powers to legislate to ‘pass measures that will restrict’ the freedoms of Granite State conservatives. In a blog post made last month on the left-wing site Blue Hampshire, 3rd District State Representative Democrat Cynthia Chase,” and there’s a picture of her here, and that’s all I’m going to say.

There’s a picture here of Cynthia Chase, and she “advised her fellow legislators to use their positions to make New Hampshire less welcoming to any conservative or libertarian planning on moving to her state — not to mention those already in residence. For those unaware, a conservative project of sorts has been underway in New Hampshire since 2001. The idea is that Americans of conservative ideals are to move to New Hampshire, gather in communities, run for office, and work to drive the state toward libertarianism and conservatism.”

There’s a movement that has been orchestrated throughout the country to convince conservatives to move to New Hampshire and to make inroads politically and to try to wrest control of the state, in a democratic fashion. That’s why this state legislator, Cynthia Chase, is all upset. I’ve told you in the past that liberals consider us the biggest threat that they face — a bigger threat than Al-Qaeda, a bigger threat than any terrorist group, a bigger threat than any other nation. We conservatives are the biggest threat they face, and Ms. Chase here is making this abundantly clear.

She wants to purposely use her powers to write laws to target individuals with whom she disagrees, take away their freedoms and liberties, all in the hope that the citizens that she is oppressing might ultimately leave. That’s what her objective is. Cynthia Chase wants conservatives to leave New Hampshire, and she wants to effect this by writing legislation that targets their liberty and targets their freedom. Steve MacDonald, a New Hampshire resident said, “[T]his sounds like tyranny.”
Now, imagine, if you will, if a state legislator had written a blog post targeting the freedoms of gays or targeting the freedoms of women or some other minority.

What if? What if some legislator wrote a blog post and said, “We are never going to allow Justin Bieber into our state”? Can you imagine the hell to pay? But people are now actually considering this since the target is conservatives.

BREAK TRANSCRIPT

RUSH: Cynthia Chase, the legislator in New Hampshire who wants to target conservatives and limit their freedom so they’ll leave? I said there’s a picture of her. She looks like a Teamster. That’s the best way to describe it. We’ll link to it.

END TRANSCRIPT

H/T to William Smith for the link to the Transcript 

Steve has been recognized as the Americans For Prosperity Blogger of the month for December 2012
Steve Mac Donald has been recognized as the AFP December Blogger of the month

Posted in Local NH Politics | Leave a comment

New Hampshire House Democrat Respect & Civility Alert!

Posted on January 4, 2013 by Steve Mac Donald

David Miller Democrat Roch NH
New Hampshire Democrats ran on respect and civility.  And we knew it for the fraud it was but people still fell for it.

Part and parcel to the fraud was Speaker Norelli claiming to shake up the seating arrangements in the House to help build respect and civility,  bi-partisanship, working together…I figured it was so the Democrat majority could intimidate the minority members.  Another rep I spoke with suggested that this seating plan would make it easier for the Speaker to call close voice votes however she felt like calling them.

I can’t speak to the latter but the harassment by Democrats has already begun.

Today’s Respect and Civility Award goes to David P. Miller D- Rochester.
He’s made it his mission to harass a Republican rep who sits near him because he disagrees with them on the right to carry a concealed weapon.  Word has it that he was not at all respectful or civil after she spoke against amending a rule to ban firearms on the House floor and  in the gallery.  Witnesses report that he was rude and persistent.  And it has been reported to me that he intends to harass this Republican Rep every day on this issue.

It’s always nice to have something to look forward to, isn’t it?

Mr. Miller has no social media footprint so there is very little on-line to cull.  He is not a young man either.  In fact if he were a Republican Democrat Kevin Hodges would refer to him as a stingy old person who was stupid, and perhaps threaten him with a bat.  But Miller is a Democrat so he has nothing to fear from Mr. Hodges, or Maggie Hassan, or this loser, or any other Democrat.  Although someone probably should have told him to read the rehrotic published under his photo on the Rochester Democrat Committee Web Site.
The Democratic delegation will work for affordable, quality education for all New Hampshire citizens at all levels, from elementary through high school and beyond. They will protect the New Hampshire environment and quality of life, not just for our own health and well-being but also for the economic benefits they afford our citizens and our many visitors. They will work to achieve these goals, and many others, by working together in an atmosphere of mutual respect and civility. [link]
Just after Christmas Democrat Rep Cynthia Chase made it clear that the New Hampshire Democrat House majority should intentionally legislate away rights or freedoms to protect the left’s poltical advantage.  Now we’ve got a Rochester, New Hampshire Democrat who has promised the daily harrassment of a member of the minority party who has been forced to sit near him.

The New Democrat Respect and Civility.  It’s just like the old version.

Mr. Millers House Contact Info:
Strafford- District 23
Seat #:4058
New
Home Address:
7 Harding St
Rochester, NH  03867-3722
Phone: (603)332-0925
Email: david.miller@leg.state.nh.us
House Commitee Information
  Committee Name: ENVIRONMENT AND AGRICULTURE
  Position: Member  
  Telephone: 271-3125

Steve has been recognized as the Americans For Prosperity Blogger of the month for December 2012
Steve Mac Donald has been recognized as the AFP December Blogger of the month

Posted in Local NH Politics | Leave a comment

Democrat Terie Norelli Brings Civility To the New Hampshire House?

Posted on January 3, 2013 by Steve Mac Donald

Get a load of this.  It is part of a quote from an elected member of the New Hampshire House.
“What we can do is make the environment here so unwelcoming that some will choose not to come, and some may actually leave.  One way is to pass measures that will restrict freedoms that they think they will find here.”
Can you imagine any person in elected office saying something like this and not being run out of office by their own party leadership?  The person speaking is talking about using the legislature’s police powers to intentionally drive people away from New Hampshire or out of New Hampshire.  They are literally suggesting we use the legislature to restrict peoples freedom, on purpose.
Would it matter more or less if the speaker was talking about restricting the freedom of homosexuals?  How about blacks or other minorities? What if they wanted to run off immigrants?  How about scaring off the mentally ill or handicapped, or senior citizens?  Honestly, does it matter?  What class of law abiding citizens deserves to have their freedoms restricted simply because some elected official doesn’t agree with them, who they are, or what they believe?
Does it matter that to the best of my knowledge Democrat House Speaker Terie Norelli has not done a damn thing about it?
Wait.  This wasn’t a Republican I’m quoting.  It was New Hampshire House Democrat Cynthia Chase (D- Cheshire 8).
If a Republican had said this..
“What we can do is make the environment here so unwelcoming that some will choose not to come, and some may actually leave.  One way is to pass measures that will restrict freedoms that they think they will find here.”
…that would be  different story.  But it was a Democrat.

I guess Democrats don’t actually have to be civil, they just have to claim their opponents are not, even when this statement is directed at people Cynthia Chase views as opponents.  She’s talking about members of the Free State Project.

But that shouldn’t matter should it?  It should not matter because some Free Staters are women, or minorities, or gay.  Some are senior citizens and there may even be a few who have handicaps?   But Cynthia Chase doesn’t care.  She thinks we should use legislative authority to restrict their freedoms and drive them away.  Sounds more like tyranny than civility.

So why is she still in office?

Contact info Cynthia Chase
110 Arch Street #38
Keene, NH  03431-2168
Phone: (603)357-2381
Email: cyndychase25@gmail.com
House Commitee Information
  Committee Name: CHILDREN AND FAMILY LAW
  Position: Member  
  Telephone: 271-3184

Contact Info – Speaker Norelli
Home Address:
35 Middle Rd
Portsmouth, NH  03801-4802
Phone: (603)436-2108
Email: terie.norelli@leg.state.nh.us
House Commitee Information
  Committee Name: RULES
  Position: Chairman  
  Telephone: 271-2136

More on Free Keene

H/T George Lambert c/o Facebook – Original Remarks by Ms. Chase posted at Blue Hampshire

Steve has been recognized as the Americans For Prosperity Blogger of the month for December 2012
Steve Mac Donald has been recognized as the AFP December Blogger of the month

Posted in Local NH Politics | Leave a comment

Decisive Flip Flops From Candidate for NH-GOP Chair

Posted on January 2, 2013 by Steve Mac Donald
Patriotic Flip Flops
Given all we know already about Andy Leach (New Hampshire US Senator Kelly Ayotte’s Office) making calls to candidates running against Jennifer Horn for NH-GOP Chair, who then suddenly dropped out of the race for NHGOP chair, leaving Jennifer to run un-opposed, (until Andrew Hemingway stepped up), this seems relevant.

Candidate Horn, on her Facebook page, provided two updates (one last night and one before lunch today) in which she provided details on the impending Fiscal Cliff deal in the US Senate.  The first included some specifics from Congressman Guinta’s Office (see also deals on continuing resolutions and debt ceiling that lead to the fiscal cliff), and a second update in which she summarized her continued displeasure with the deal.

But then it was learned that Senator Ayotte voted for the deal.   Did Jennifer get a phone call from Andy Leach as well?
I can’t answer that question.  What I do know is that Joe Barton says he posted a comment on Jennifer Horn’s Facebook page after Ms. Horn cried foul about the last-minute deal, asking if Senator Ayotte had voted for it (and mentioning that she did), with a link to the Senate roll call.  Mr. Barton’s reward for sharing was being banned from the page and our reward was another update from the candidate for NH-GOP Chair…
Unfortunately Republicans were put in a “no-win” situation last night- while these tax hikes are untenable at best, they were forced to choose between the lesser of two evils. No deal would have led to tax hikes worth many times this much that would have impacted 100% of Americans. I think there is a worthy debate to be had if perhaps that would have been the better path, but I am not going to hold it against anyone who felt they were at least trying to protect as many taxpayers as possible. My focus will continue to be on the President and the Democratic leadership who refused to offer a balanced, fair plan for the American people.
So we went from…
100 billion in tax increases a d(sp) NO SPENDING CUTS …. But millions in spending for alternative energy, Hollywood movie producers, and the usual Washington favors … Some deal …
To…
Unfortunately Republicans were put in a “no-win” situation last night…
Speaking personally, I am not without regard for the problems and potential of a Kobayashi Maru no-win scenario, but it seems a bit suspicious to me for someone who posted all the negatives about the deal to do a 180 right after she found out that the Senator from New Hampshire whose staffer cleared the playing field for her race for chairman (until Andrew Hemingway jumped in the race) voted for the thing she was just so clearly against.
I can’t find Joe’s comment or link so it appears that this was removed along with Joe.  That could suggest that observations or input from certain wings of the party might not be tolerated in her NH-GOP; that’s the party where a US Senator’s staffer threatens to make sure the party money dries up if her opponent wins.  See where I’m going with this?
Whatever the particulars, and with or without Joe’s timely removal from Jen’s Friends list, Ayotte did vote for the deal, and Horn did do a 180 when she found out.
Denials may be forthcoming.  We love those so fire away.

Steve has been recognized as the Americans For Prosperity Blogger of the month for December 2012
Steve Mac Donald has been recognized as the AFP December Blogger of the month

Posted in Local NH Politics | Leave a comment

Granite Grok’s Top Twenty Posts For 2012

Posted on January 1, 2013 by Steve Mac Donald
Granite Grok's TopTwenty most commented on posts for 2012
Hot Air does this every year, so I figured I’d give it a shot.  It is a compilation of the posts that received the most comments in 2012.

And I can tell you, since I have a few posts on this list myself, that how well you write, or how clever you are, is not nearly as important as hitting the right note at just the right time.  And sometimes, somtimes, it is the result of what amounts to very interesting tangents that pop up in comments and then take on a life of their own.

However they got there, here are the twenty most commented on Grok posts of 2012!

20.) So, gay activists, where do you think this will end up? We’ve all asked the question…if two men getting married is a right, why not three?  Skip provides a cartoon and some comments, and attracts all the right kind of attention for his effort.

19.) Oh, so THAT’s what they look like! Susan Olsen shares with us the ‘Journalists Guide to Firearms identification. Proof that a picture is worth a thousand words, or at least a bunch of comments.

18.) Meet Another State Employee Wasting Taxpayer Time Online Dick de Seve wasn’t the only state employee with way too much free time on their hands, and open access to the Internet.  In this post we meet Gaia, who made deSeve look like an armature.
17.) “Using The Internet to Sell his Political Agenda On Your Time?” One of many follow-up posts on the Dick deSeve, DES online debacle, but in this one Skip asks, what is the State policy regarding state employees using state equipment to blog and comment, did he violate those policies, and wouldn’t you know, he has the policy with him.

16.) Using the Law to ‘Legally’ Steal Elections? The last minute change to domicile rules more or less invalidating any teeth an ID law might have, allowing almost anyone with any ID from anywhere to say they lived here to vote here…probably cost us a few races.  So GraniteGrok decided to collect checklists from before and after , just so we could see who was new “in town” –every town.  We’re still on it, but this is the post that sent out the call.

15.) Blogging The Truth Can Be Dangerous – Stacy McCain at an Undisclosed Location Talking about Brett Kimberlin can be dangerous and Grok friend Stacey McCain found himself on the lam and blogging from secret locations.  Mike reports, readers respond.

14.) So, Greg Carson, Secretary of the NH GOP is demanding “unity” What happens on Facebook often ends up on GraniteGrok.  In this installment of Facebook Doodlings, Skip explores a conversation about House Minority leader, Republicans, Libertarians, and more.

13.) Encountering ‘Tea-Baggers’ On the Path To Restoring Civility to Concord. In the duplicitous world of the liberal mind it is perfectly acceptable to claim you will be more civil while supporting candidates who are anything but.

12.) A Conservative Solution to The Public School Lunch Circular Firing Squad I’ve written about a half -dozen posts about the Feds meddling in public school lunch programs.  This one observes the problem again–from the perspective of newly reported issues in Derry,  NH, and suggests a solution–just in case someone in the legislature happens to be paying attention.

11.) Democrat NH House Rep Cindy Rosenwald – About That 800 Million Dollar Deficit Cindy Rosemwald, a NH Democrat House rep on the finance committee attempts to prove that Republican reports of an 800 million dollar Democrat deficit are a myth and ends up admitting it is real in the process.

10.) Is A NH Public Employee Using The Internet to Sell his Political Agenda On Your Time? We followed a Tip, and exposed a DES employee surfing the net and sharing their union and political opinions on state time.  This lead to a slew of posts on the issue by several Groksters, and some quality time with the nice folks who claim to run the NH D.E.S.

9.)  Breaking: Andrew Hemingway to run for NH GOP Chair Granite Grok broke this st.ory.  One reporter even asked Skip if he would have to start reading the Grok to find out what was going on in NH?

8.)  A thought from watching Meet The Press’s host, liberal David Gregory  David Gregory hectors Wayne LaPierre of the NRA on Meet The Press.  Gregory is one of many liberals who are against armed guards in public schools but whose kids have armed guards in their private  schools.

7.)  The Gay Marriage Report Card It’s got the words ‘Gay’ and ‘Marriage’ and Report, in it.  That’s like waving raw meat in front of wild carnivores.

6.)  “The Free State Project and New Hampshire…“..the luckiest state in the history of the United States.  A well received rah! rah! shout out t0 Free Staters and a comment magnet as well.
5.)  Men Have No Say? Then Why Make Them Pay?   You’ve no doubt heard of the EULA, the End Users License Agreement?  Well I Invented the VULVA.  The Vaginal Use Liability Verification Agreement.  Sarcasm may be the lowest form of humor but it works.

4.)  Unhappy Muslims! The unhappy Muslims live in Muslim countries, the Happy Muslims live in non Muslim countries, sometimes the obvious is the most fertile ground for debate.

3.)  On A Path To Less Government or More? The question was whether medical Marijuana would put us on a path to less government or more.  Just asking the question was more than enough to rile up some readers.

2.)  Developing….Political Bias in Merrimack High School…Evolves: Teachers with Obama signs in the classroom, extra credit for working at the Manchester OFA office…and comments ensue.  (I still have the pictures, by the way.)

1.)  Democrat Maggie Hassan – Lives In A Half Million Dollar Home, Pays No Property Taxes: Coming in at Number One for 2012, this post is proof that you don’t need to spend a lot of time laboring over your blogging opus to drive comments.  All I did was cross post a video.

There you have it.  The Grok’s Top 20 for 2012.  Happy New Year and keep commenting!

Steve has been recognized as the Americans For Prosperity Blogger of the month for December 2012
Steve Mac Donald has been recognized as the AFP December Blogger of the month

Posted in Local NH Politics | Leave a comment

PUC Approves PSNH Rate Increase – Observe the Democrat’s Circular Green Firing Squad!

Posted on December 30, 2012 by Steve Mac Donald

Back in September PSNH announced that it would need to rasie rates to deal with about 67 million dollars a year in costs associated with RGGI (and other state energy mandates)- a tax (RGGI) that Maggie Hassan was proud of, if you’ve forgotten.   (Grokster Tom also has a nice treatment of those same stories here.)

At thetime of that announcement the estimated annual hike on rate payers was about $50.00 per year, more for commercial users obviously.  But the rate increase just approved by the New Hampshire Public Utilities Commission (PUC) will cost you a good deal more than that.  Make that a great deal more!
The new initial monthly rate increase estimate for anyone who uses 500 kwh/month will add an additional $12.15 per month.  That’s about $145.00 per year, not $50.00.  Speaking for my own family, we’re looking at $15.00 a month at minimum or $180.00 less per year in our pocket for the same eletricity we use now.
That stinks, but here is where it gets ugly for Democrats.

New Hampshire has a green energy mandate that forces providers to buy or generate at least 25% of their electricity from resources identified by Democrats as “renewable.  (Hydro and Nuclear are not included.) These all cost more than what PSNh generates on its own.

Democrats also passed RGGI which requires all electricity generators to buy carbon credits to allow them to continue producing electricity.  The state gets a bonus check from RGGI for playing along, which they are supposed to spend to improve energy efficiency to offset the costs of using electricity.

(Democrats borrowed over $3,000.000.00 to pay down a sliver of their deficit, the rest is supposed to have gone to energy efficiency programs–see also left wing cronies, and corporate welfare.)

Electricity deregulation–a proud moment for Democrat governor Greene Jeanne Shaheen, allows customers to pay lower delivery rates regardless of whether PSNH generates the power or not.  PSNH has been losing customers as state energy mandates have driven up their operating costs, requiring them to raise rates to cover losses created by the mandate loving Democrats.  and now the PUC–a government bureaucracy, is expressing concerns at how much PSNH needs to raise rates to cover these costs, with the expectation that as a result of these increases more people will choose other power delivery providers at the expense of PSNH.

That would obviously require PSNH to rasie rates further to cover more losses….and how long do I have to do this before everyone realizes that New Hampshire Democrats broke the marketplace with their stupid mandates and ceaseless meddling?

If that were not bad enough, consider the big picture.  As of 2011 total RGGI revenue spending (we joined in 2008) was $35 million and in that same year the PUC was running a $600,000.00 RGGI deficit, having already promised more than we’d received from the program, prompting some to ask “is there a PUC to watchdog the PUC?”

The answer is no, but that’s not the big picture.  Since 2008 RGGI has not paid New Hampshire 67 million total in revenue, over four years, and as PSNH clamied earlier this year they would need to offset $67 million annually as a result of the Democrat mandates that resulted in those costs.

I have no idea how many years worth of $67 million in annual costs PSNH needs to offset, but that is $67 million a year that will be extracted from small business owners and rate payers.  That means the New Hampshire economy in 2013 and possibly 2014 or beyond, will see $67 million redistributed into rising energy costs instead of being used to create jobs, or growth, or for day to day commerce that can no longer occur as a result of political mandates.

Would the Democrats like to suggest that $35 million in energy efficiency investments over the past five years will net a $67 million dollar per year net benefit?  I’d love to see that math, but before anyone tries consider that PSNH probably needs more than 67 million per year now as the circular firing squad that created costs and ran off the customers needed to pay them keeps on firing.

So how do we sum this up?  New Hampshire Democrats created mandates and regualtions that are driving up electric rates well in excess of any sum we could ever recover from the programs they swore would be a windfall for the state.  The difference between the two is going to suck tens of millions more per year away from the State’s economy during a recession.    Rising electric rates will also make the state less appealing to business owners, result in fewer new business starts, lower employment, higher taxes (the government pays for electricity as well), more expensive products and services as business owners try to offset costs, and when oh when can I please say I told you so?

Steve has been recognized as the Americans For Prosperity Blogger of the month for December 2012
Steve Mac Donald has been recognized as the AFP December Blogger of the month

Posted in Local NH Politics | Leave a comment

Paging Bill Binnie – The Nashua Telegraph Is Up For Sale!

Posted on December 30, 2012 by Steve Mac Donald

Bill Binnie has been buying up media in New Hampshire.  WBIN-TV!  He just scooped up some radio stations.  And hey, wouldn’t a major Granite State newspaper be a great edition?  I think so, so how about the Nashua Telegraph?

That’s right, the family that owns that liberal bird-cage liner (based out of Pennsylvania–say hi to Mike Brunelle for me) is getting out of the Newspaper business, including the Bedford Journal, the Hollis Brookline Journal, the Merrimack Journal and Milford Cabinet, liberal rags to the last.

In addition to The Telegraph, Independent Publications’ holdings in New Hampshire includes the Bedford Journal, the Hollis Brookline Journal, the Merrimack Journal and Milford Cabinet.

Publishing assets of another company owned by IPI, McLean Communications Inc., based in Manchester, were sold to Yankee Publishing Inc. of Dublin on Friday.

McLean publishes New Hampshire Business Review, New Hampshire Magazine, New Hampshire Home and Parenting New Hampshire. Yankee is a family publishing business that produces some of New England’s most well-known titles.
The Telegraph will continue until a buyer is found and we can only hope it’s not the parent of the Monitor or Herald or Sentinel or whomever owns these other fish-wrappers in our state.  We could use another voice from the center right to balance things out a bit.  So Bill, call Jim Bender and some of your Republican buddies and see if they want to invest in trying to run a newspaper the right way.

I have no idea what that is but if you’d like to leave a spot on your editorial page for GraniteGrok, we’d be happy to make the liberals buy subscriptions just so we can make them bleed from their eyes.

Steve has been recognized as the Americans For Prosperity Blogger of the month for December 2012
Steve Mac Donald has been recognized as the AFP December Blogger of the month

Posted in Local NH Politics | Leave a comment

Why We Can’t Have A Discussion With New Hampshire Democrats

Posted on December 29, 2012 by Steve Mac Donald

Over at my other haunt, NH Insider, my Fridge mag cross-post elicited the following response from Democrat Jim Splaine on the matter of gun ownership, which exemplifies the reason why any discussion with Democrats on any subject is unlikely.
Why can’t we have a real discussion about this issue? Just like the myths of an “$800 million deficit,” or that “Obamacare is socialized medicine” (whereas it’s mostly privatized), or that “gay marriage is a slippery slope,” there a new myth a-brewing among the Tea Partiers and right-wingers that President Obama and the Democrats are after everyone’s guns.
We cannot have a discussion because the 800 million dollar deficit is not a myth, the goal of Obamacare is a government-run single-payer system, the slope is slippery because Democrats lied about their goals and intentions, and Diane Feinstein has legislation right now that includes gun grabbing language.
Real discussions begin in reality.  Democrats refuse to begin in the real world preferring the one they’ve created to explain what they claim to believe.  And you can’t negotiate with madmen.

Deficit?

The 800 million dollar deficit “myth” is very real.  Just aks Democrat Finance committee member Cindy Rosenwald, who not only explained why it existed, but that Democrat leadership knew about it and intended to cut the budget to address it.
This extra money, $802 million in total, helped maintain essential safety net programs for vulnerable residents hit hard by the recession. The federal money was one-time assistance. The Democratic majority knew all along it would not continue, and that budget cuts would have to be made during the following biennium so that there would not be a deficit.
Rosemwald is no disgruntled back-bencher.  The Deficit was real.  But no one seems to have told Jim Splaine, who is apparently reading from the NHDP hymnal without question, where the words..”The Democratic majority knew all along it would not continue, and that budget cuts would have to be made during the following biennium so that there would not be a deficit,” do not appear.

ObamaCare

As for Obamcare being socialized medicine, anyone who understands how markets work and has ears to hear, knows that the Patient Affordable Care Act has but one purpose; to corporatize insurance under the jackboot of the Federal government.  Jim can choose between Fascist state control or Socialist/Communist control, but state control is the goal of Democrat leaders– unless collapse is an option for debate.  Are Democrats trying to collapse the Insurance system?  I’d enjoy a discussion about that.

Marriage

There are more than a few slippery slopes on the Gay Marriage issue the biggest of which is that marriage is a civil function of which religious marriage is but a part.  Splaine may have never used those words himself but it is out there, just like the myth that gay marriage is about equality.  As I so often say, marriage is a rite not a right.  Churches deny the rite of marriage every day.  Marriage also existed long before the state so it cannot possibly be a construct of it.  It was meant to tie a man to his childbearing wife for the benefit of their children, but seeing as those are also concepts are generally regarded as myths by Democrats it is a short walk to where Splaine’s narrative lives and breathes.

The state’s only real interest in marriage is to defend the property rights of the couple and their heirs.  Where a non-religious pairing is preferred, because the state cannot force you to be religious, the state also recognizes unions by judges and other civil persons for similar purposes.  Civil unions were afforded to same sex couples, and there was much rejoicing.

There are other slopes for us to slip on.  Civil unions were heralded as adequate until they were not.  Democrat John Lynch promised not to pass a Gay Marraige law  until he did.  Lynch lied about parental rights when he repealed them so with liars like this who needs the truth?

Guns?

All of which brings us to guns.  Mr. Splaine insists Democrats don’t want to ban all guns or even take them away except for some guns.  And Obama Care doesn’t socialize medicine it just makes socializing it inevitable.  And Civil Unions don’t redefine marriage until they do.  And there is no 800 million dollar deficit, except there is.

Given the arc of every other left wing policy we have no reason to believe anything they say or believe.  I certainly don’t.

There is the lefts enthusiasm for UN treaties that do their dirty work for them and just happen to include language requiring the registration, tracking, and inevitable confiscation of privately owned firearms; and the recent revelation of gun grabbing legislation from Senator Diane Feinstein (here and here for starters), show us that Mr. Splaine is mistaken.  Democrats do want to grab and or ban guns.  Should I look forward to his objections in public print to belay my fears?  Probably not–he still wants us to think there was no 800 million dollar deficit.

So we can talk about all of that if you’d like but Democrats don’t want to unless we begin from a starting point of their choosing.

Nor do they want to discuss how generational welfare and fatherless children are a greater threat to life than ‘assault weapons’ they cannot begins to describe.   (You might want to read this Jim before you open your mouth again about guns.)  I know you’re a smart enough guy, I’m just not sure you can see past the massive encumbrance of your pre-programmed worldview.

Other Nonsense

There is a good deal more nonsense in Jim’s NHI comment, a cow whose udder is fat for more milking, but I’ll leave that for others to explore.  My point is made.  Given the scope and consistency with which the New Hampshire left believes it’s own lies, and the lies themselves (like that they are civil for example- Ha!),  discussion is impossible.   It is impossible because it cannot begin until Democrats stop believing so much that is not true.

Steve has been recognized as the Americans For Prosperity Blogger of the month for December 2012
Steve Mac Donald has been recognized as the AFP December Blogger of the month

Posted in Local NH Politics | Leave a comment