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The original intent was to get this out on President’s Day but it snuck up on me. Then I thought I’d do it for Abraham Lincoln’s birthday which I’ve incorrectly believed to be the 22nd for years now. Yes, that’s Washington’s birthday. I know that now. I’m already sufficiently embarrassed but go ahead and make fun of me for it in the comments. Anyway, it doesn’t matter because I didn’t quite finish it yesterday before I had to take off for some volunteer work I had been scheduled for. So here it is late enough to seem completely off topic.

Excerpts from Lincoln’s first Inaugural Address–
(Read On…)

Not once has anyone been able to show us the text of HIPAA that restricts people from recording patients in public. In fact, you may be surprised to see that in the video below, a videographer in Keene openly records the scene of an accident and the patient, without his consent, and the police don’t even seem to acknowledge it as an issue.

So I tried to register as a homeless person and despite signing TWO forms under penalty of perjury (the “domicile affidavit” and the “voter challenge affidavit”) they STILL refused to accept my registration! I immediately pulled out my blackberry and QIKked their explanation. Turns out because the “checklist supervisor” didn’t FEEL like I was homeless, that was enough to deny me the right to vote. It didn’t matter one iota that I’d sworn an oath to my claim being true. My supposed right to vote was DENIED. Watch as it happened:

Click here to view the embedded video.

Now that they have denied me any method of actually working within their system, allow me to cite their own rules in the form of part of article 12 of the NH constitution’s bill of rights:

Nor are the inhabitants of this state controllable by any other laws than those to which they, or their representative body, have given their consent.

I certainly do not consent to this insane system and its rules and now that they’ve denied me the right to vote, no one could claim that the NH representatives are my “representative body”, so I should be free and clear to stop paying them, right?

Oh yeah, my interpretation doesn’t matter, only the interpretation of their men in robes calling themselves the “Supreme Court” matters. Every day I get closer to not caring though. When I decide to stop paying these criminals it will be crystal clear to the world that they are just a gang of criminals as they steal my home and kick my family into the street.

While in the Cheshire County Jail, I requested to use the law library on a few occasions to defend myself. The requests were generally approved after anywhere from 3-8 days later after several follow-up requests, and in one case, a petition signed by 20 other prisoners.

Unfortunately the law library at the jail is severely deficient. The New Hampshire RSA set, updated last in ‘94, has volumes missing. They have the RSA’s on one computer, which was down for weeks, but that doesn’t include much useful case law.

The Federal code volumes are from the 50’s and have more volumes missing than on the shelves. The NH court rules haven’t been updated since 1979, and that’s important because they have added hoops to jump through to call witnesses in your own defense, which are not even in the 1979 rules. The Keene city ordinances are nowhere in sight,  and several activists continue to be charged with them.

While in the Jail Richard Van Wickler said it’s not his responsibility, and that I should call the Public Defenders office because they maintain the law library, and they have assured him that it’s up to date.

Today I called and spoke with Jan who has managed the Public Defenders office for over 20 years.

Guess what, they have never been responsible for the law library at the jail. Jan told me the Public Defenders office is a private corporation, and has no formal relationship with the jail.

So then I called Count Attorney, Peter Heed’s office since he has a duty to ensure justice is done in every case before him. I spoke with his assistant Chloe, who got the question into Peter, and guess what. They don’t care either.

So then I called their county commissionerJack Wozmak, who is out of the office all week. His assistant Terry didn’t seem to concerned either.

What kind of people turn the other way while human beings are subjected to a process they don’t understand, not given any means to defend them selves, properly call witnesses, or research case law? (all the while personally profiting from others misfortune)

These people are facing the threat of having several years of their lives taken away, at a cost of over $15,000/year per person to taxpayers! Wouldn’t a compassionate society at least provide them the means to defend themselves?

The RSA’s can be download here.

The Court Rules can be downloaded here.

The Keene Ordinances can be viewed here.

Here’s’s the most basic list of what every Jail law library in NH should contain at a minimum. (put together by a private company)

And yes, this really is a simple as printing them out and putting them in the library or placing a copy on the jail computers.  What excuse could they possibly have for being over 3 decades behind on this? If you are outraged, then take a few minutes to let them know:

Rick Van Whckler, Jail Superintendent: (603) 283-3304

Peter Heed, County Attorney: (603) 352-0056

County Commissioners Homepage and Jack Wozmak’s, County Commissioner’s number (603) 352-8215

I doubt the situation is any different in other counties: John Lynch, “governor”  (603) 352-8215

Please let these people know that they are human beings and so are the “offenders”. Ask them if they would be okay if it was one of their family members being subjected to such treatment.  Do they simply not care, or pretend not to know while profiting off of others’ misfortune? After all, it’s not their loved ones, these people are “offenders” right? As “Captain” Colby told our caging section, “Your inmates, you don’t have rights.” Please take action now, there is no excuse for this.

]]> http://freekeene.com/2009/10/20/the-heartless-nh-justice-system-and-the-bureaucrats-who-run-it/feed/ 17 http://freekeene.com/2009/10/14/3743/ http://freekeene.com/2009/10/14/3743/#comments Thu, 15 Oct 2009 02:06:32 +0000 dalebert http://freekeene.com/?p=3743 In the video below I explain my motives for not going along quietly with a simple citation and paying the fine. Statism is a religion that I simply do not have faith in and those of us who feel that way need to come out of the closet and stop pretending that we do in order to fit in and avoid conflict.

We often confuse expediency with pragmatism. You can make a choice that provides immediate return and seems the pragmatic choice only to pay a higher price later. A person who commits a crime is getting some immediate reward but has an ever-increasing risk of being caught each time. He’s gambling. He’s also shitting where he eats by destroying the sense of trust in his community. Lying is similar. When you get caught in a lie, which is likely just a matter of time depending on how often you attempt it, you seriously undermine your reputation. Worse yet, if you lie now expecting some immediate gain from it, even if you correct yourself in the future, anything you say thereafter will be circumspect. Even when you get away with it, every lie you tell for some immediate benefit undermines your veracity because you know you’re a liar. Conversely, knowing in your heart that you are consistently honest and sincere shows through in the power of your convictions. It’s a rare talent to be able to lie convincingly.

(Read On…)

Public Notice

The Keene Police Department is scheduled for an on-site assessment September 13-15, 2009, as part of a program to achieve recognition by verifying that it meets professional standards. The recognition program requires agencies comply with state-of-the-art standards in four basic areas: Customer Satisfaction, Responsiveness to Citizen Requests, Solution Oriented Focus Addressing Root Causes, and Victim Restitution.

The public is encouraged to provide feedback ensuring our assessors get a complete picture of how this agency is impacting the community. Refreshments will be provided to visitors who may meet with our team during business hours this week, during the Saturday/Sunday sessions or other times by appointment. We look forward to hearing from you.

Janice Hartman, CALEA Team Lead

Okay, as you may have guessed, this is not a genuine draft of the press release. I wrote it to get you thinking about how police may be a bit  hypocritical and even delusional in their claim to protect and serve the interests of the public.

In Reality, if you want to “offer comments” you’ll need to . . . . . .do so between the hours of 1:00 and 3:00 PM  on Monday by calling(603) 757-0620 to talk with who I’m guessing may be the one the assessor assigned to take phone calls. Once you get them on the phone, take however much time you need! (10 min. maximum)

It goes on “Telephone comments. . .must address the agency’s ability to comply with CALEA’s standards.” The standard address: “policy and procedures, administration, operations, and support services”

Who could miss the outward community focus in those standards?

To ensure as much feedback as possible, the standards – despite being a simple text document – were not made available online and can be ” reviewed at the Keene Police Department or  the Keene Public Library.”

This serves as an barrier to keep the public out of the process with roadblocks, hoops, and obstacles getting in the way of community involvement in the certification process. Without the system protecting itself, police might be faced with the harm they cause in the community. Instead the CALEA process seems to be reinforcing, “Were the good guys” propaganda to police and the public.

What good are certifying standards bodies that are unwilling to discuss the harm and unintended consequences the overall system is causing? (i.e. is the current “cure” worse than the dis-ease?)

I went to the library to take a look at the “state-of-the-art standards”. While most of them require only “a written directive”,  there’s one worth noting:

1.1.2 Code of Ethics – A written directive requires all personnel to abide by a code or canon of ethics adopted by the agency and mandates that ethics training be conducted for all personnel, at a minimum, biannually.

Of course this only requires that they have a written directive, and you can find that here . Let me share a few of my favorite highlights:

Law Enforcement Code of Ethics

. . . my fundamental duty is to serve mankind; . . . to protect. . . the weak against oppressionthe peaceful against violence or disorder; and to respect . . . liberty, equality, and justice. or intimidation,

I will. . . maintain courageous calm in the face of danger, scorn, or ridicule; . . .Honest in thought and deed. . .I will be exemplary in obeying the laws. . .

I will never act officiously or permit personal feelings, prejudices, animosities, or friendships to influence my decisions. With no compromise. . . I will enforce the law courteously and appropriately without fear or favor, malice or ill will, never employing unnecessary force. . .

I recognize the badge. . . as a symbol of public faith. . .to be held so long as I am true to the ethics of police service. I will constantly strive to achieve . . . my chosen profession – law enforcement.

To the Police, Prosecutors, Jailers and others  with friends or families in the profession: Take some time to read this and think about it. Do your actions measure up the intent behind this code? Is that what you spend your time doing all day? Would your family, friends, and neighbors answer this question about you in the same way?

Do you want a more compassionate and caring society that would come about by living this code of ethics? Sure you could go on urging others to “use the system” and “change the laws”. If that works, how did it get to this point?  I think Alfred Adler put it best, “It is easier to fight for one’s principles than to live up to them.“

What’s it like waking up one  morning wondering who your going to catch today? Knowing that you will be forcing others to live, not with liberty-in a way consistent with an individual’s morals- but by words written on paper by people who want to use you as pawns to control others, often to their own benefit or perceived benefit.

What’s it like to go out hunting your friends, neighbors, and fellow human beings believing it’s ok to extort money from then in an effort ensure they adhere to your belief system?

I’ve often asked myself these same questions. It must be like shooting fish in a barrel. You shoot that gun into the barrel and the shock wave reaches every fish letting them know who’s in charge. Sure your distorted view of the fish may cause you to hit the wrong one from time to time, but what can they really do? Jump up and bite your arm? You can laugh as they struggle to survive in the environment you dragged them into. It must be so easy to dismiss their claims of injustice. It must feel powerful knowing how well protected you are from the fish in the barrel.

Is that the difference you want to make in the world? Subjugating others to the will of the few in power who which to use force for personal gain? Government’s answer to everything seems to be more: more police, more weapons, more laws. Is that the gift you want to give your children – A police state?

For the rest of us, if you feel police don’t follow this code, then call and tell them on Monday. I didn’t see anything requiring KPD to follow the written guidelines in order to be accredited, so chances are they will discard your comments as irrelevant to the requirement for a written policy. At least the employees will not be able to go on thinking everyone loves what they do because hardly anyone complains!

I think this is the most powerful point an individual can make, a moral one. One that appeals to the humanity in each of us. I encourage those of you who share some or all of my beliefs to communicate those thoughts with the monopolists who work for the government justice system.

If not Monday, then the next time you run into them on the street, in the grocery store, or at the park. Let them know the importance of those ethics, and that you feel police can not possibly uphold such a code by enforcing laws written to serve politicians.

Burst the bubble for them, and hopefully one day they can put down their guns and start having a rational discussion about a more compassionate and caring, voluntary society.

I filed for my candidacy for mayor as Ian “Nobody” Bernard. That’s my slave name with a nickname of “Nobody” added to the middle. The publicly announced purpose of this campaign was to give voters the first opportunity ever to actually choose Nobody, rather than the lesser of two evils. (As I would not take the oath of office or attend council meetings.) Clearly, the establishment did not appreciate this and immediately set to disqualifying me from the ballot. They decided on attacking my voter registration, which hadn’t seemed to be a problem before. The assistant city clerk Bill Dow, a very nice man, sent me the following letter and email:

It has been noticed that your voter registration record on file in the Keene City Clerk’s office indicates that your residence address is listed as 39 Central Square #313. It is our understanding that the residence address you provided on your voter registration form dated 11/28/2008 is not a legal domicile as defined by NH Statute which states:

Mail boxes are insufficient for purposes of establishing domicile as defined by RSA 654:1,I, which defines domicile as “that one place where a person, more than any other place, has established a physical presence…” This definition is further clarified by RSA 654:7, the statutory Voter Registration Form, which states that “A domicile is that place, more than any other, where I sleep most nights of the year…”

NH Statute requires that a voter domicile affidavit be filled out when a voter’s legal domicile is in question by an election official. Please come to the Keene City Clerk’s Office and fill out a voter domicile affidavit, no later than Monday, September 07, 2009 or your name will be removed from the declarations of filings list for the 2009 Municipal Primary and the process for removing your name from the voter checklist will follow.

If you have any questions regarding this matter, please feel free to contact me at the Office of the City Clerk.

Sincerely,
William S. Dow
Records Manager/Deputy City Clerk

They sent along a “domicile affadavit”, but as I know government people like to request more information than they are required to by their rules, I decided to have a look at their statutes to see what should have been on the form. Indeed there were some differences. I printed out the domicile affadavit from their own website, but did not fill in the street on which I live. It was my understanding that anyone who lives in NH can vote so long as they affirm they live in a certain geopolitically designated physical area. (In order to be a candidate in a municipal election in Keene, one must need only be a registered voter.) In this case, I was willing to affirm that I live within the designation known as “Ward 4″ in Keene. Even though the clerk admitted that a homeless man could write in a general location and that would be accepted, she insisted I be treated differently and demanded my home address.

Of course, their own definition of domicile in 654:7 says, “A domicile is that place, more than any other, where I sleep most nights of the year, or to which I intend to return after a temporary absence. As you can see, Bill Dow did not cite the alternative definition, nor did the city attorney accept it. He claims the definition of domicile is actually in 654:1:

An inhabitant’s domicile for voting purposes is that one place where a person, more than any other place, has established a physical presence and manifests an intent to maintain a single continuous presence for domestic, social, and civil purposes relevant to participating in democratic self-government.

To me, it seems “Ward 4″ should be sufficient to meet that definition. It is a “place” wherein I’ve established a presence. Since a homeless person’s domicile can be a geographic area, it’s clear I’m being discriminated against and targeted.

It’s no secret where I live but I did not want to obey her arbitrary demand for this information. Upon request, she informed me that it was only the incumbent Dale Pregent and I who were vying for the mayoral seat. I said it’d be a shame for him to be unopposed, and she claimed to agree, but she sure did everything she could to prevent Nobody from offering some competition. As you’ll see in the video, I made the offer to give her the info she wanted if she’d affirm they will allow my nickname of “Nobody” on the ballot. (Here in Keene it’s common to see nicknames in municipal elections.) She didn’t want to answer the question, but I pressed on and got her to admit that they would not allow the nickname of “Nobody”. The attorney claimed I’d need the nickname for five years and when asked what if I wait five years, they claimed they’d still disqualify it as a “slogan”.

I refused to assent, they refused to accept my domicile affadavit, and Patti claimed they’d be disqualifying me from the ballot and begin the “process” of un-registering me to vote. They also said they’d be targeting anyone with a voter’s registration located at the UPS Store on Central Sq.

Did I really expect them to allow “Nobody” on the ballot? Not really – then there’d be a real chance Nobody could win!

So, should I launch a write-in campaign? Patti admitted that it would take some time for their “process” of removing me from the voter rolls, so by the time of the primary, I’d likely still be listed. (Patti’s letter to me notifying of my removal from the primary ballot informed me that the “checklist supervisors” would give me the “opportunity to qualify your domicile” prior to my removal from the voter rolls, so who knows how long this removal process will take.) It only takes ten write-in votes at the primary to nominate someone. Since Pregent is unopposed, unless someone else gets more write-ins than I, that should qualify me to run against him in the general election. Of course, that presumes they don’t find some other way to disallow me. (We’d probably need to send people to watch the vote counting to be sure they weren’t ignoring the write-ins.) Obviously they won’t allow the nickname, but perhaps I should just run as my slave name and hope people get the word that a vote for me is a vote for Nobody! What do you think? Please post your thoughts in the comments.

I like to hang around during office hours with the staff of Jeanne Shaheen the US Senator. I may be  one of the local “businessmen” who uses government for my own benefit.  Do you know anything about me? Please share your information in a comment below.

In unrelated news, Shaheen has updated office hours, and she apparently doesn’t want to hear from Keene. The closest location to share your concerns is now over an hour away.