Guest Blog: “A Month in the ‘Free State’”

May 5, 2012 by Ian · Leave a Comment
Filed under: Essay, Living Free, National, Outreach, Personal Freedom, Your Evolution

New mover Chris Cantwell reflects on his first month in the Shire:

A few weeks ago, my shotgun would have subjected me to years in a state prison, I paid an 8.625% sales tax on nearly everything I purchased, and a progressive state income tax made every effort to steal from me the fruits of my labor. Finally, a local municipality driven mad by xenophobic anti-immigration activists declared my apartment illegal and threatened to evict me from my home. Thanks for that, no, really, thank you, because coming to New Hampshire is the single greatest thing I’ve ever done in my entire life.

So I fit what I could in my van and fled the criminal gangs calling themselve The State, operating inside the arbitrary geopolitical boundary commonly known as New York. 5 hours north, I find myself in Marlborough, New Hampshire, just outside of Keene.

The move couldn’t have gone smoother. Read more

New Mover: “My First New Hampshire Civil Disobedience Experience”

April 22, 2012 by Ian · 3 Comments
Filed under: Civil Disobedience, Essay, Living Free

New mover from NY, Chris Cantwell describes one of his first activism experiences living in the Shire:

Yesterday I had the pleasure of joining Kelly Voluntaryist, Ian Freeman, Darryl Perry, Jason Repsher, Rich Paul Freeman, and over a hundred other activists for the 4/20 rally, at the State House in Concord, NH.

Activists from Keene, NH met at the Keene Activist Center, as we so often do, a week in advance and discussed what we would do, who wanted to go, and who could provide transportation, signs were made, channels for two way radio communications were decided on, and by the time we loaded into our cars, everything was ready to go. Other activists from across the state and political spectrum also made plans and attended.

Some people had arrived early, to clean up the streets. Liberty activists performed a litter pickup, as agents of The State wrote parking tickets nearby… Read more

Signs You’re in A Cult – The Cult of “Authority” or “The State”

April 4, 2012 by Ian · 37 Comments
Filed under: Essay, Laugh at the Aggressors, Your Evolution

Most people are aware of cults. Some are more familiar than others, having actually been in one, or having a loved one who was or still is. Religious cults are the most obvious. In addition there are self-help cults and marketing cults.

Some critics have accused the liberty movement as being a cult. However, when you break it down, it doesn’t fit the parameters. Really what is happening, is those accusing liberty-oriented people of being cult members are just projecting. Whether they realize it or not, they are deep within a cult of their own. It’s a cult so pervasive and effective, that people don’t realize they are a part of it.

Until a better name is put forth, I’d call it the Authority Cult. In Larken Rose’s excellent book, “The Most Dangerous Superstition”, he clearly outlines how the belief in “authority” is incredibly destructive to the ends of peace. It’s an excellent and enlightening read.

There are classic signs you are in a cult, and the Authority Cult is replete with them:

Brainwashing Techniques
There is no shortage of brainwashing going on in the Authority Cult. Children are indoctrinated from a young age to believe in “authority” and to respect those who claim to have it. The message is very effective, and the government schools churn out wave after wave of worker drones who are not likely question their beliefs and will hand over a huge portion of their earnings to the Authority Cult leadership.

Chanting is also another serious warning sign, and Authority Cult members are inculcated from an early age with the “Pledge of Allegiance” Read more

Jim Hightower Weighs in on Keene’s BEARCAT

March 21, 2012 by Ian · 10 Comments
Filed under: Essay, National, Police

From the Sheboygan Press:

During a recent city council meeting, the mayor of Keene, New Hampshire leaned over to a council member and whispered excitedly: “We’re going to have our own tank.”

Yes, the tank (or, more specifically, the “armored personnel vehicle”) is the latest must-have toy for mayors and police departments. Even in this picture-perfect and tranquil New England town of about 23,000 residents, officials hurl common sense to the wind at the very thought of having such a cool ride parked in front of town hall. Maybe they’ll even get to drive it in the next Fourth of July parade. Never mind that Keene has no crime that would warrant rolling out a tank. Read more

Peaceful Devolution

March 21, 2012 by Skeptikos · 86 Comments
Filed under: Announcement, Essay, Your Evolution

Ian Freeman is embarrassing.

It’s a view you ~~rarely~~ never see on this blog, but it’s a view held by myself and a serious portion of liberty activists in the Keene area. (Not to mention the overwhelming majority of Keene residents.) Lately it’s been the senseless pestering of city bureaucrats, the quixotic school outreach, and his involvement in the war on grandmas. Yes, he does other things which are more legitimate and professional, but, for as long as I’ve been in New Hampshire, it seems that Ian has always been vocally supporting activism that’s jarringly wrong-headed.

I joined this blog in 2010 in order to openly criticize certain activist tactics that struck me as counterproductive. At the time, I was worried that the suppression of criticism was creating an atmosphere of groupthink– a situation where the systematic lack of criticism leads groups to make wildly irrational decisions. Since then, I’ve changed some hearts and minds with regards to criticism, and caused people to look twice at things they’ve taken for granted. This has been very satisfying.

But, where it really matters, I have failed. Read more

Mayor Ed Foster Regains Mayoral Position In Quartzsite, AZ

March 14, 2012 by Kelly · Leave a Comment
Filed under: Audio, Corruption, Essay, National, News, Update

The latest from the tiny desert town that was the setting for one of my major activist projects of last summer. It was a pleasure to work with Jade Jones, Michael Roth, Richard Abbey, Dana Stadler, Will Ponce, Ed Foster, and more. If I hadn’t moved to Keene, Quartzsite would have been my second choice; there are some amazing activists there! Now, we just need to get them to move here to Keene!

According to Jennifer “Jade” Jones, publisher of The Desert Freedom Press:

Quartzsite voters turned out in record numbers yesterday to send a message. And that message was “NO” on Proposition 1(444 votes to 149), meaning 75% 0f voters wanted an elected not an appointed mayor. The mayor they chose was Ed Foster.

At odds with the rest of the council before he even took office in 2010, Foster had lost a recall election to Fire Captain Jose Lizarraga in August by a narrow margin. That recall was spearheaded by then Councilman Jerry Lukkasson and his wife Michelle. Lizarraga refused to run again for his expiring mayors seat and Lukkasson resigned from the council for a chance to wield the gavel. Now, the voters of Quartzsite have put Foster back in as the town CEO, and by a respectable margin. Read more

Keene’s Peacekeeping Trio Arrested, Part I

March 1, 2012 by Kelly · 6 Comments
Filed under: Civil Disobedience, Court, Essay, Personal Freedom

Fear is a cancer that must be cut from one’s life completely if they are to truly live free. All consuming, it eats away at the soul and drives away

Engraved at Mahatma M.K. Gandhi’s Ashram in Gujurat, India

life-force itself, imprisoning its victims within the everlasting flames of evil in the only hell I believe in; one’s own self-created hell on earth. Fear in any area of one’s life spreads, just like a cancer, and inevitably seeps into the rest; eventually eliminating all traces of peace and truth. The opposite of life is death, and the opposite of love is fear. According to the axiom of life itself we can assume that because we are here on earth, our purpose on it is to live free, to thrive, and above all, to create. Fear robs us of purpose. Fear is what prevents each of us from fulfilling our highest potential. Fear, quite literally, kills. Read more

What Defines Good? (Philosophy)

February 21, 2012 by Kelly · 46 Comments
Filed under: Essay, Your Evolution

What is it that defines good? According to Webster’s dictionary, it is defined as “being positive or desirable in nature “. Is good then a subjective value to be determined by each individual according to what they find desirable? If that were the case it would mean that there is no such thing as good or evil, that man’s life has no meaning, that there is no existence outside of consciousness; that the world is nothing but an accidental playground of pure, unbridled nihilism and that we are the devil’s children with empty, cackling, infinite nothingness as our total sanction and final purpose. While looking to any form of mainstream media at various interludes might depict this to be the case, rationality tells us quite differently; and although my overall faith in the human race is sometimes lacking I highly doubt that such a concept accounts for the inner beliefs of anyone but a psychopath. Read more

An Opposing View – Why You Should Support The Bearcat

February 15, 2012 by Ian · 16 Comments
Filed under: Essay, Laugh at the Aggressors, Personal Freedom, Police

Henry Acton of Keene emailed FK via news at freekeene.com with this essay on why you should support the BEARCAT:

Hello my fellow New Hampsters!

I’ve been reading with great interest the debate about the LENCO Bearcat Armored Personnel Carrier. I have decided to support Keene obtaining this fine piece of military hardware. This might surprise some of those of you who know me so I thought I would explain why.

There are two main sets of arguments as to why Keene needs such a beast of a vehicle. Read more

Arpad Toth Speaks Out Against the Bearcat and Fear

January 31, 2012 by Ian · 5 Comments
Filed under: Copblock, Essay, Living Free, National, New Hampshire, Police, Update

Arpad Toth writes the Sentinel this excellent letter about the Bearcat and how fear is hurting us:

Fear leads to BearCat

There is a specter haunting our nation — a specter of fear.

To me, and I know that in this evaluation I am not alone, it is apparent that since Sept. 11, 2001, fear has been the motivating force for change across the United States.

Where do I see fear? For the present I use but one parameter — despair, the need to arm one’s self, seek protection against the “other.” The “other” is too often an illusion than a reality but what a powerful one it is. Read more