NHPR Focuses on Keene in Feature on the FSP – My Response

April 4, 2013 by Ian · 10 Comments
Filed under: Audio, Civil Disobedience, Cool, Democrats, Issues, New Hampshire, News, Outreach, Republicans, Victimless Crimes

This morning on NHPR’s “The Exchange” with Laura Knoy about the Free State Project‘s first decade in NH, the haters were on the attack against liberty activists here in Keene. Keene activism dominated the conversation with FSP guests Carla Gericke, Joel Winters, and Carol McGuire (both are state representatives – Joel a democrat and Carol a republican).

Perhaps the host of the show will have another episode actually featuring Keene activists who can respond to the ridiculous critics. The usual complaints of toplessness in front of middle schoolers, smoking pot, harassing crossing guards, police, and court staff and other misinformation came up and the guests’ answers were dodgy at best or outright attacks on Keene activism. Carol McGuire, for instance, agreed with the host when she asked her if she thought Keene was a “black eye” on the Free State Project.

One thing is for sure, as Joel Winters points out, Keene activism gets people talking. Too bad none of the speakers on the show bothered to address the ridiculous critiques straight on. No one pointed out:

Women should be (and are in NH) free to be topless, just like men. Keene police acknowledged they were wrong for arresting her, released Cassidy, and even apologized! The “Granite State Progress” lady that called and brought up the topless protest sounded like an uptight conservative – she doesn’t support equal rights for women?

Anti-Photo-Freedom State Rep Cowers from Ridley’s Camera

March 11, 2013 by Ian · 18 Comments
Filed under: Concord, Corruption, Issues, Laugh at the Aggressors, National, News, Politics, Republicans

Republican state rep Neal Kurk’s “A-” liberty rating (as per the NH Liberty Alliance) should take a tumble this year with his awful “anti-drone” legislation that threatens all people with criminal charges for photographing houses from the sky. This would restrict anyone, private or government, from flying a camera-equipped drone or even taking photos by satellite, which would mean he’s even targeting Google Maps!

Kurk’s proposed legislation doesn’t even address drones with guns – only photography!

His behavior on-camera is as ridiculous as his legislation as he covers his face and escapes from Dave Ridley‘s questions:

Dr. David Berman Confronts the Merry Men

March 7, 2013 by Free Concord · 2 Comments
Filed under: Copwatch, Democrats, Free Concord, Free Press, Free Talk Live, Issues, Laugh at the Aggressors, Living Free, New Hampshire, News, Occupy NH, Outreach, Photos, Police, Politics, Rant, Republicans, Robin Hood, Video

T’was two days ago when the Merry Men, which at the time consisted of myself and Keene native Graham, were approached by a mysterious individual wielding a phone as a videocamera. Though he declines to introduce himself, he was prompt in uploading his video to his youtube channel, Dr David Berman/MusicProDave.

Discussion of the cell phone video occupied a good portion of last evening’s episode of Free Talk Live. For a confrontational encounter, I feel surprisingly relieved of responsibility to add much commentary to accompany what was digitally captured. Mr. Berman’s video, my own raw video, and the raw footage from Graham’s flipcam speak for themselves. The best illustration I have found thus far of the experience was uploaded by the Aqua Keene Parking Force, using all three angles and adding some additional videography skills into the mix.

An article about David’s video was published yesterday to Free Keene.

Comments War & Consciousness of Provocateurs

March 5, 2013 by Free Concord · 1 Comment
Filed under: Concord, Democrats, Free Concord, Free Press, Issues, Manchester, National, New Hampshire, News, Politics, Republicans, Video

Dave Ridley gives some critical analysis to recent comment controversies. Mark Warden, a state representative from Manchester, found himself under criticism after remarks made during a hearing were reported on by the Granite State Progress blog and reposted further. Part I, The Hunt for Controversial Comments is On:

Part II, Provocateurs, Not Press…what free staters should be most on guard against

This comes in the wake of the controversy stirred by Keene representative Cynthia Chase’s comments regarding actively immigrating porcupines. Ridley ambush interviewed Chase in Concord and published the video last week, which is fairly uneventful as she declines comment and moves on. In a sense, the videographer was throwing a softball by asking, ‘Do people get too focused on controversial comments and not enough on people’s actions?’

2013 Liberty Forum: Vermin Supreme Presents Vote Jesus

February 27, 2013 by Free Concord · 1 Comment
Filed under: Democrats, Free Concord, Issues, National, New Hampshire, News, Outreach, Politics, Republicans, Satire, Video

Today’s 2013 NH Liberty Forum presentation video is none other than footage from the screening of the unreleased documentary Vote Jesus: The Chronicles of Ken Stevenson. Presidential hopeful Vermin Supreme went undercover as Ken Stevenson in 2008 to make the film, remaining in character while engaging with numerous figures from America’s christian right. In the post-screening Q&A, Vermin discusses the history of the project and the potential for a release of some version of the film in the future. You may recognize the self-declared Emperor of the New Millenium as featured in previous Free Concord content: Election summary The Most Least Important Primary, Capitol Center debate arrest coverage, On the Campaign Trail with Vermin Supreme, Arrested on Election Eve: Why not to talk to police, Tough Questions on Oral Hygiene interview, and presidential endorsement Why You Should Consider Vermin Supreme in 2012.

I’d like to thank you all for enjoying my playing, and having fun with pretend, and coming up with these outrageous things, and running with them, and letting the people at large, and the media think that it’s something real. You people are a force multiplier for this sort of absurdity, this sort of surrealism, this sort of critique of American politics, and I think the more people that get involved and take this sort of tact, the better.

Hundreds Gather for Firearm Freedom at Capitol

January 20, 2013 by Free Concord · 1 Comment
Filed under: Concord, Democrats, Free Concord, Free Press, Issues, National, New Hampshire, News, Personal Freedom, Photos, Politics, Rant, Republicans, Victimless Crimes, Video

Yesterday demonstrations were held across the US in support of firearm freedom. In Concord, hundreds attended a roughly two hour rally to oppose further restrictions on rights to self defense technologies.

Nobody was sighted counter-protesting, though at an antiabortion rally which occurred hours prior, a crowd was demonstrating in opposition. A photo from the steps of the state house was featured in a Time magazine article on the national rallies. An unedited video playlist features footage at Fr33manTVraw.

Why is Fosters’ so ill-informed? Buzz, I’m looking at you.

January 15, 2013 by SethCohn · 8 Comments
Filed under: Democrats, Free Press, Free State Project, Hypocrisy, New Hampshire, News, Politics, Republicans, Response, Update

In response to the 2 recent editorials Foster’s Daily Democrat has published, “Co-opting our way of life” (reprinted at the bottom of this, for context) and “FSP Has Some Growing Up to Do” (link to previous FK post), I wrote the following piece which Fosters’ published today:

What Free Staters are and aren’t

Tuesday, January 15, 2013

The two anonymous editorials that Foster’s has printed in the last week regarding the Free State Project reflect a lack of understanding that I’ve found only in the most closed minded individuals, left or right, here in New Hampshire.

In early 2001, Yale doctoral student Jason Sorens brainstormed about what might happen theoretically if libertarians got together in one place. In the ensuing 10 years, the reality far surpassed anything young Sorens could have imagined, and he’s said so many times. Quoting his original essay as gospel or blueprint misses the boat entirely, nobody but the most strident opposition are even reading it. Certainly the 13,500+ current signers to move aren’t, nor the 1,000+ who have moved over the last 8 years. Professor Sorens wrote a “10 years on” sequel essay refuting much of what he wrote back then. Theory: 20,000 activists. Reality: Far less are needed, and more effective than he imagined.

Read more

Former AG Peter Heed arrested for DWI outside Keene

January 11, 2013 by Free Concord · 2 Comments
Filed under: Corruption, Democrats, Free Concord, Hypocrisy, New Hampshire, News, Politics, Republicans

The former Cheshire county attorney and even more former NH Attorney General was arrested last evening for driving while intoxicated. State police received a report of an erratic driver on Rt. 9 headed toward Keene before his vehicle was intercepted and he was arrested. Heed resigned from the highest lawyer’s office in the state following a sexual harassment allegation in 2004, and has been with the Cheshire county government’s legal team since 2006. He suddenly resigned in November 0f 2012, weeks following his reelection to the post in order to join a private firm. Heed has worked on and off as a lawyer for the state since the 1970s.

“I sincerely regret any error I may have made and I will address it in a straightforward way,” the bar-certified man stated today.

Get a clue, Limbaugh – Free Staters aren’t conservatives! (or liberals)

January 4, 2013 by Ian · 23 Comments
Filed under: Announcement, National, New Hampshire, News, Republicans

Well, the good news is the Cynthia Chase story that we broke here at Free Keene has gone national in a big way, with Breitbart and Rush Limbaugh picking up the story.

The bad news is that they got a key point of the story wrong. WAY wrong.

Cynthia Chase said that “Free Staters are the single biggest threat the state is facing today.” However, the conservative media is reporting the story as though she said Conservatives are the single biggest threat.

Get a clue. Free State Project participants are NOT “conservative”, nor are they “liberal”. We love liberty.

The Free Staters that I know all support ending the insane war on drugs. They are LGBT-friendly (or actually LGBT). They are anti-war. Are those “conservative” positions?

If you love liberty, meaning the freedom to live your life as you wish, so long as you don’t harm others, then you should join the Free State Project. However, if you’re a “conservative” that wants to control people’s sex lives or what they put in their bodies, then you won’t fit in. You should stay where you are.

War Racketeering in the South Western Hemisphere

January 1, 2013 by Free Concord · 3 Comments
Filed under: Corruption, Democrats, Free Concord, Govt. Schools, International, Issues, National, Politics, Republicans, Thuggery, Video

On this first day of the New Year, I was motivated to do something I don’t normally, and that is contacting federal ‘representatives’. A website linked on my Facebook feed made it as easy as customizing a form letter to address three congressman and the president. The letter called for the immediate closing of the US Department of Defense’s School of the Americas, also known as WHINSEC, the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation. WHINSEC is a training facility in Fort Benning, Georgia where primarily Latin American militants loyal to US foreign policy demands are instructed in tactics of controlling and killing. You don’t often (or ever) hear the four politicians who received my message discussing the collateral damage and crimes attributed to graduates of the school, which made it the most fitting way to frame a new year, while talking heads babble on about fiscal cliffs. For more on legislative and other actions to take against the School of the Americas, check out soawatch.org.