Free Keene

Comment by bile

November 16, 2008 @ 1:21 pm

Thanks Toby. If you click on the images you’ll get the full version. You can right click that one and save or right click on the thumbnail and click on save link as. It’s rather large for use on signs or shirts.

Comment by Lane

November 16, 2008 @ 4:52 pm

When the game is rigged, stay off the playing field.
Going to court was Ian’s first mistake.

Comment by bile

November 16, 2008 @ 5:16 pm

What would you have recommended? Remove the couch? Pay the fine? Wait for a warrant?

Comment by Anonymous

November 16, 2008 @ 6:40 pm

I see a court case as an invitation from the State to talk with reason before force is used. If you do not accept their invitation, they will likely use force against you without giving you another chance to hear your reasoning.

I think Ian was spot on. The State just didn’t want to hear Ian’s questioning of their authority in court. This is not about the couch. It is about the lack of their authority and their wanting to hide that fact and not allow people to question their authority.

Comment by Curt Springer

November 16, 2008 @ 9:55 pm

I think Judge Burke made a really bad call. Saddam Hussein was allowed to rant at length about the authority of the court at his trial. So was Nicolae Ceausescu at his kangaroo court trial in 1989. It wouldn’t have done any damage to the court system if Ian had been indulged and allowed to say this or that.

Still, I feel strongly that Ian and many or most of you have made a tactical error in taking on the court system. Historically (not always) the court system has upheld individual liberty against the predations of the executive and legislative branches of government.

Ian’s martyrdom has energized people but you are a tiny percentage of the population. It didn’t even make the Keene Sentinel, at least not the online edition. This will not advance personal liberty in NH in any way. Ian’s passivity has allowed the city to get away with improper administration of its own ordinance.

Comment by bile

November 16, 2008 @ 10:03 pm

If it wasn’t Ian this time it would have been someone else next time. It seems to me that Burke and others are getting fed up with these free stater people and are looking to do something about it. If this case really did energize people… that will lead to a slowing of tyranny if not an increase of freedom down the road.

Knowing which battle would move things forward in the best manner is impossible to know. Ian made his choice. He and we need to now take advantage of it in any way we can.

Comment by James M

November 16, 2008 @ 10:23 pm

There’s a typo in the title of this entry. Ian would have not let this stand.

Actisist? Psssh.

Comment by Anonymous

November 16, 2008 @ 10:24 pm

Ian did not choose to take on the court so much as non-cooperate with the Blue Light Gang’s demands when they chose to target the couch in his tenet’s yard. You cannot be tactically incorrect when you consistently apply your principles.

Comment by Curt Springer

November 16, 2008 @ 11:21 pm

The whole thing is a total waste. Ian didn’t even violate the letter of the ordinance. I just don’t think that any of this stuff is going to benefit NH residents.

In this case it would have been much more effective simply to try to get the building code board of appeal to override the action of the code enforcement bureaucracy. That would have made a tangible difference in law enforcement in Keene.

Comment by bile

November 16, 2008 @ 11:31 pm

You seem to miss the point. Ian doesn’t agree with the existence of system you claim he should have used to stop them from harassing them. You may as well suggest he should have moved the couch or paid the fine.

Given who and likely why the complaint was made it seem unlikely that this point would not have been reached. If Ian didn’t violate the letter of the ordinance then why was it issued? Why did the court entertain a trial over it? It’s not Ian’s responsibility to prove his innocence… theoretically… it’s theirs to prove his guilt.

Comment by modelmotion

November 17, 2008 @ 1:06 am

I think any sane person would conclude the judge has lost his mind. Perhaps he should have a psychological evaluation. Clearly he is not mentally stable.

Comment by chfsfan

November 17, 2008 @ 6:43 am

I wonder if Ian is eating the states food “under duress”. Better yet, I wonder how he feels just living in the states “house” which is paid for by taxes.

On a side note…someone should register underduress.com or haveaseat.com

Comment by Mike

November 17, 2008 @ 9:57 am

I urge everyone to write letters to Ian in jail. You can do so easily and for free at Mail-to-Jail. Let him know how his actions and sacrifice affected you, what you’re doing for liberty now, tell him a joke, give him hope and cheer.

Comment by Curt Springer

November 17, 2008 @ 10:14 am

Modelmotion wrote:

I think any sane person would conclude the judge has lost his mind. Perhaps he should have a psychological evaluation. Clearly he is not mentally stable

You could say the same about Ian. Both men got caught up in this and acted rashly. I fault the judge more because he was the one with the power and Ian might have acted differently if he had been treated more indulgently from the opening of the court session.

Comment by Rance Muhamitz

November 17, 2008 @ 11:49 am

It turns out the original couch complaint was made by Mikaela Engert, a city bureaucrat who didn’t like something Ian said to her on Talkback. What an evil little bitch!

http://jailedactivist.info/bureaucrats/city-officials/mikaela-l-engert/

Comment by Michael R. Edelstein

November 17, 2008 @ 12:04 pm

I suggest everyone in Keene put a couch (or table or chair) on their front lawn in protest.

Comment by Curt Springer

November 17, 2008 @ 2:28 pm

Such a protest would simply highlight the paucity of support in the overall community.

Ian Freeman is no Rosa Parks.

Comment by Mike

November 17, 2008 @ 2:36 pm

Curt, do you mean like the paucity of support that is evident in almost every single one of your comments/posts?

Comment by Anton Lee

November 18, 2008 @ 5:29 pm

I’m not horribly worried about the community. People will find their own way, with the VOLUNTARY support and help of others. People are not stupid, simply they make mistakes at times. The individuals shall overcome.