Free Keene

Free State project is moving slowly
Like-minded people are still coming to the Granite State

By PHILLIP BANTZ
Sentinel Staff
Published: Saturday, August 30, 2008

Nearly five years have passed since the Free State Project adopted New Hampshire as its home base and began the task of convincing 20,000 activists to commit to uprooting their lives and moving here.

They would come in droves, the plan went, overwhelming the sparsely populated state and ultimately changing the way big government works by limiting its power through free-market solutions.

There would be tax reductions; regulations such as being required to have a driver’s license to get behind the wheel of your own car would be relaxed or scrapped; power would be restored to the people and the Granite State would become the Free State, a model for the rest of the country and even the world.

That hasn’t happened yet, and only 8,558 people have committed to making the move since the project’s inception, according to its Web site. (Read on …)

Mary Poppins called Talkback this morning, plus a caller suggests that Free Staters are going to turn NH into Germany and gets rebutted.

Please join us in calling the program with a pro-liberty viewpoint. Get details and discuss on this Free Keene forum thread.

Download the MP3.

Toby and Nick talk about whether or not people using the library and other government services should be charged user fees, as well as this week’s Downsizer Dispatch. Later in the show, Free Minds TV travels to the Live Free or Die festival in Jaffrey NH. Interviews include Libertarian presidential candidate George Phillies and Patriot Pastor Garrett Lear. Support the show! Log onto http://www.freemindstv.com/promote.

One week ago, someone claiming to be from CITY OF KEENE “Code Enforcement” threatened me over a couch in my tenants’ yard. They use the couch for birdwatching and it has been there for longer than I can remember. Now the Blue Light Gang has a problem with it? Whose property is this, anyway?

Today, 08/26/08 he returned and I had my camera ready.

(Read on …)

This was originally posted at the Anarchy In Your Head comic and blog website on 8/18/2008.

“If your art can get more press for anarchy, I won’t have to get arrested so often.”
- Lauren Canario

I got what I consider a very good comment on a recent comic strip- I Aim to Misbehave, that deserves a proper response. The comic focuses on a controversial activist, Lauren Canario, known for refusing to participate in driver licensing and car registrations, among other things, to the point of being arrested. It brought up some very good points about how we communicate our ideas. The videos of Lauren embedded with that entry get quite a lot of views and some of the YouTube comments responding to the videos make it clear that many people just don’t get it. Obviously she’s trying to make a powerful statement with her actions and it’s important that people get the message.

(Read on …)

From the NH Free Press‘ Kat Kanning:

Russell Kanning’s vote for the November 2008 elections is up for sale! He’s doing this to demonstrate what’s really going on in the elections. Politicians promise you all sorts of goodies in order to buy your vote: new welfare programs, new roads, new wars, the list goes on and on. Russell just wants to lay it all on the table and deal honestly, so you can buy his vote directly. He’s delegated the actual task of auctioning off his vote to me. He’ll be voting in the City of Keene, NH. Bidders from the Keene area have the added incentive that he can vote for city issues for you, in addition to the presidential and congressional rat-races. I would be auctioning off my vote too, but when city officials heard about my auction plans, they removed me from the voter rolls in their fiefdom. About a year ago, we both asked the City of Keene to take us off their voter rolls, which they refused to do in Russell’s case.

Place your bid!

FK EDITOR’s UPDATE 8/24 EARLY AM: Ebay has pulled the auction. It’s sad how obedient businesses are to the state.

Liberty activists called WKBK’s Talkback this morning to discuss education, but could barely get a word in as Fred Parsells talked over top OTN’s Sam and I and then hung up on us. Talkback used to be a show where callers could have their questions heard and answered, but it seems our questions are too challenging or thought provoking, so we are now being marginalized. Perhaps we just need more callers. Can you help?

Please join us in calling the program with a pro-liberty viewpoint. Get details and discuss on this Free Keene forum thread.

Download the MP3.

I know, I recently asked for some money, but bear with me. This time, I have a specific project I’d like to fund raise for. I’ve been in talks with Lee Perkins from Cheshire TV about sponsorship opportunities. There are several locally produced television programs staffed 100% by volunteers. Lee would like to give these volunteers a token amount of money for their time and effort and is willing to sell us sponsorships in front of the Cheshire TV programs of our choice. I think it would be fun to start with the city council meetings!

I’m open to ideas as far as the copy for the spot, so feel free to make suggestions on this forum thread. Here’s what I have at the moment. Imagine viewers in Cheshire County seeing this sponsorship in front of the city council meeting (accompanied by shots of this website’s features):

The following program is brought to you by FreeKeene.com . FreeKeene.com features audio, video, and blogs chronicling the transition to a voluntary society. FreeKeene.com also has comments and discussion forums so you can be heard. FreeKeene.com

At the moment, we only have about $30 a month coming into Free Keene. 100% of that is currently going to purchase advertisements on the Ridley Report. I still think the Ridley Report is the best place for us to be spending that particular money, but it sure would be a lot of fun to run FreeKeene ads in front of the city council meetings. (And later, other CTV programs) Do you agree? If so, please contribute three dollars a month at http://contribute.FreeKeene.com. Thank you!

Tonight on Free Minds TV, over 100 college presidents from the nation’s top schools are calling for a debate on lowing the drinking age. Also, the Downsizer Dispatch, a man in the UK is arrested for taking a picture of a police officer breaking the law, how to get off the no fly list, and the elected officials in Chesterfield NH are raising the land assessments while the actual real estate market is still falling.

This Tuesday, Russell Kanning agreed to “community service” to appease the government over his violation for driving without a license. This solution is reasonable to him because it doesn’t give city government any of his money, and cost them time to prosecute the trial.

It’s interesting, as seen in the video, how the court goes out of it’s way to target the press with unnecessary questions and burdens. Do they have something to hide? Do they know the harm they’re causing to innocent people, and hoping it doesn’t get out. It would be interesting to have cameras in there daily for airing on Cheshire TV. The average citizen doesn’t know what goes on in these courtrooms in the downtown of their own city.