by Dale Everett | Jul 21, 2009 |
Hope Chapel, a local church, was the victim of an appalling act of vandalism recently and the insurance payment fell far short of what’s needed to repair the damage. The church is having a volunteer effort this Saturday at 9am to repaint the church. Free Keene frequently has news about what we are against. This is a chance to show what we are for. We’re for peaceful coexistence in a pluralist society where people with all different points of view can work together voluntarily for common goals and seek peaceful resolution of their differences. Whether you yourself are a Christian shouldn’t matter. I’m not. This church is a peaceful voluntary organization and they didn’t deserve this. It’s times like this when we have an opportunity to pull together and get to know our neighbors.
We’re expecting anywhere from a dozen to several dozen volunteers on behalf of Free Keene and I’d like to encourage our readers to come assist if you can. There will be supplies and refreshments on hand but if you have any tools that you think might come in handy, feel free to bring them. We are also encouraging donations to help replenish the funds that the church is having to deplete on supplies.
Hope to see you there!
* Directions *
by Sam Dodson | Jul 21, 2009 |
Yesterday, this letter to the editor was published in the Keene Sentinel:
An open letter to Sam A. Miller.
I recently read the article in The Sentinel about how Cheshire County “tricked” you into leaving the place you so loved to hate called jail. You had a lovely run there. Three hots and a cot and all the cable TV you could handle. And at no cost to you; John Q. Taxpayer picked up the tab for your new orange threads and your lovely view of the beautiful area of Westmoreland.
No doubt you’re unemployed and are collecting one or more forms of benefits from the very government you denounce, so you really have no idea what it’s like to pay your taxes and see your tax dollars wasted on someone like you.
You refuse to sign a paper releasing you from jail, but then complain that you are being held unjustly and without cause. I am a fellow freedom lover myself, being a Republican, but you, sir, have embarrassed even your fellow Free Staters.
You pollute the downtown with your protests and makeshift signs made from construction paper and magic marker. I know you are longing to be guilty of something so I am going to pass down this judgment in hopes that the matter will be settled and you will stop bothering the good people of this town, county and state. You are guilty of stupidity, and the very thing you are guilty of is also your punishment … a life sentence.
WILLIAM CHAFFEE JR.
32 Court St Apt. 2
Keene
My Response to William Chaffee Junior’s Open letter, (more…)
by Ian | Jul 21, 2009 |
Tack on another $250 to the thousands of taxpayer dollars spent on imprisoning Keene liberty activists thus far in 2009. For his dastardly crime of “disturbing” the soil in central square (see video of the arrest) in an attempt to plant some tomato seeds earlier this spring, Cory “AnarchoJesse” Maloney will likely be ordered to jail for three days. The robed man at Keene district court, Edward Burke, rejected Maloney’s legal argument which centered around their rule exempting agricultural tilling from the definition of “excavation”, saying he didn’t believe it was the legislator’s intent to override the city ordinances. The city’s ordinance apparently also says that one needs a permit to “disturb” city property. Maloney was found guilty and $120 demanded of him. He indicated he would not be paying and Burke suggested he think about it for a few days, because the only other option is 3 days in Chez Westmoreland. At over $30,000 per year to imprison people in NH, that’s more than $250 stolen tax dollars for three days. Add that to the over $6,000 already spent imprisoning peaceful activists so far this year.
How much more will they spend on this draconian punishment? How many more peaceful people must have their freedom stolen from them before this tyranny ends?
We know the government people read this blog. If you are one of them, how many more people will you hurt? Isn’t it possible what you’ve been participating in is wrong? That is, imprisoning peaceful people who haven’t harmed others?
I forgive you, and ask you to please stop playing your role in this violent system. Do the right thing.
We expect video of the trial to be available later here at FreeKeene.com
by Nick Ryder | Jul 20, 2009 |
Nobody forgets the arrest and imprisonment of Sam Dodson, held for 58 days without trial after his arrest on April 13 of this year. What many are likely to forget though, is the insanity that ensued afterward. When activists were ordered out of the Keene District Court lobby following his arrest, six stayed against the orders of Eli Rivera. The below links contain the accounts and videos from that day:
5 Activists Arrested during Dave Ridley’s Arraignment
Mass Arrests Make Front Page of Keene Sentinel
Live Footage of Activists’ Arrests
Fascism Explodes at the Keene Court
More Video: Interviews with Arrested Activists Upon Release from Keene PD & Alternate Arrest Footage
Most of the activists staying behind were 100% quiet and out of the way. Two were cited while standing in a corner of the room. Two more were arrested after remaining seated on a nearby bench the entire time. All of them accused of “Disrupting the orderly conduct of business in a public or governmental facility.”
Over the past 3 months since this incident, each activist has handled his charges slightly differently: from motions for recusal, to motions to strike charges, to a witness list 16 people deep.
Where does it all lead to? It all leads to July 27th, at 1:30pm at the Keene District Court. Five of the six “disorderlies” are scheduled for trial at the same time. How such a thing will be processed with almost exact witnesses for each trial is yet to be seen. We don’t know what exactly to expect come next Monday, but we’d love for YOU to come find out with us. While the trials will be recorded and posted, the best thing would be for you to come out and see first-hand the show trial they are going to put on for a bunch of people who were arrested for standing in a public place.
by Ian | Jul 18, 2009 |
The next chapter in my parking ticket saga has been written. As you may recall from Part 3, I have been attempting to get the Keene police to answer some basic questions about my alleged obligation to obey their laws and statues. I had written to KPD’s captain Kenneth Meola asking my questions and he refused to answer (see the PDF), saying:
I reviewed the questions you posed in hopes of trying to draft responses that you would find logical and convincing, but the very nature of your questions precludes that. Your view on these matters is obvious, and I’m confident I could not convince you otherwise.
Apparently, Meola, who is very nice about his refusal to respond and also very pleasant in person, feels no obligation to answer simple questions about the system he has insisted I am a part of. Because of his non-responsiveness, I am going up the chain to the police chief, Arthur Walker. Here is my letter to him, which I will be hand-delivering on Monday: (more…)
