Free Keene

The Libertarian Party (LP) had, after the late, great Harry Browne’s campaigns, been falling further and further from it’s original principles. In the early portion of this decade, when the LP removed from the party platform their calls for the abolishment of the CIA and FBI, I wrote their newspaper to say I’d not send them another dime of money until they got back to their founding principle: the non-initiation of force.

As I drifted away from the LP and politics and toward market-based action, I paid less and less attention to the LP. I even said on the air recently on “Free Talk Live“, my talk show, that the only reason I was still a member is because I bought a life membership and it hadn’t been worth my while to cancel it. (Read on …)

The genesis of this blog post was a comment by my brother left on a previous blog post of mine. He had asked this question; once I gain my freedom, how will the issues of Policing, the Military, and the Roads be taken care of. My answer is based on things that have already happened, so it is based in fact, rather than pie in the sky theory.

I will divide my answer into two blog posts, starting with the roads, and I will post the second half about the police and military in a few days or so.

(Read on …)

Of Ward 4’s 3265 registered voters, 812 decided the Ward 4 City Council seat:
629 (77.5%) for incumbent Kendall Lane
183 (22.5%) for newcomer Julia Miranda

It could’ve been worse. Actually, that number is pretty good considering that Julia is young, only been in Keene since 2006, and not very familiar with the political landscape. It’s also good because we spent less than $70 on the campaign, the bulk of that going to print out a thousand quarter-page brochures that essentially became contraband after the NH Attorney Genital threatened Julia with up to seven years in state prison if she continued promising to give away her paychecks to taxpayers. We managed to deliver over 400 of these prior to the “order” of the Attorney Genital. Understandably frightened by the prospect of years in prison, Julia rescinded her offer and instead promised her paychecks to local nonprofits and charities. (Read on …)

Yesterday approximately 20% (3,188) of Keene’s registered voters turned out to decide on a 33% more expensive Teachers’ Contract than the one that was voted down back in March. 62.5% (1,995) voted to approve the Teachers Contract. That’s a total of 12.4% of Keene’s registered voters who’ve decided that you’re going to be paying more in property taxes (or more in rent, if you don’t own).

How could you be against this? Do you hate teachers? Do you hate public schools?

Of course I don’t hate teachers. Education is very important. That is precisely why it needs to be taken out of the hands of government. Eating is important too. Would you want the government deciding what you can eat? Would you want government bureaucrats distributing food? If not, why would you want bureaucrats deciding what your kids should learn? (Read on …)

Getting the government out of the business of schooling is important not only because it violates the non-aggression principal, but also because it is what is best for children. This begs the question ~ what steps should be taken to end the unholy marriage government has with education?

Like most libertarian ideas, the first step in privatizing education is to educate the public. Most people are already somewhat aware that private and home schools trump government schools every time, but when the suggestion is made to abolish public schools most people, especially those with children, balk. This is because most people have been raised thinking that government schools are very important. Many people have never even entertained the idea of switching back to a voluntary situation. This is why educating the public is so important. (Read on …)

As most residents of Cheshire county know, the debate over where to site the new county jail has been going on for many years, primarily bcause of a convoluted system that pits one group against another like kids fighting to be king of the hill.

There is the county delegation charged with finding a suitable site, but the 20+ member county commission is in charge of the pursestrings-and neither group can agree on anything other than 1.they can’t agree and 2. the price tag keeps rising the longer the delay. It’s obvious (at least to me) that left alone,these folks will continue to endlessly debate and ultimately do nothing but accuse each other of being the problem. (Read on …)

I have enjoyed living in Keene my entire life, but it wasn’t until recently that I began really appreciating the freedoms and liberties I still posses that other places, even in America, no longer do. Seat belt laws and restaurant smoking bans are sadly becoming the accepted norm almost everywhere, but so far New Hampshire residents have stood up for their freedoms and fended off both. New Hampshire residents have largely understood the need for small government, and it is up to all New Hampshire residents to keep standing up for our rights, and to take back those we have lost.
(Read on …)

If you peruse this site, sooner or later you’re going to come across a phrase. It’s a phrase that, frankly, irritates me a little. That phrase is: “free market.”

Now, I don’t want to convey the wrong idea. Readers are probably already thinking that I am somehow against the idea of the free market. Nothing could be further from the truth. It’s the phrase itself that I don’t like.
(Read on …)