by Ian | Jul 17, 2009 |
I wrote this hopefully persuasive essay for the printed newsletter published by FIJA. I’ve missed the deadline for the Summer issue, but it should appear later this year. I had been reading their letters to the editor and been amazed that no one was writing about much else besides just giving Fully Informed Jury Association information to their friends, family, and co-workers. This is good, but not particularly effective. I hope that explaining what we do here in Keene will encourage others around the country to duplicate our efforts, or better yet come to NH and get active here.
I’m publishing this article here on the blog in the hopes that it will encourage similar activism other parts of New Hampshire, where honestly, there is no excuse for activists to not be doing this incredibly simple and effective activism. We’ve been challenging the activists in other areas to take this up for months now, and they haven’t. Which of course just makes Keene a more attractive destination in comparison.
Thanks to Chris Muskus for being the driving force behind this amazingly successful FIJA outreach, as it enters it’s second year this August.
In the last year, my fellow activists and I have distributed hundreds of Fully Informed Jury Association pamphlets into the hands of potential jurors as they arrive at the courthouse for jury selection. Month after month, we gather on the first Monday in front of the Cheshire superior court in Keene, New Hampshire and offer FIJA information to every single person walking into the courthouse. We arrive at 8am when the doors open and stay until about 8:45am, fifteen minutes after the potential jurors are supposed to be there, just to make sure we reach all the late arrivals. About 80-90% of the people we approach will take the flier. Usually I’ll smile and say something like, “Good morning, would you like some free information on your rights as a juror?”, and hold out a trifold. That’s all it takes! (more…)
by Dale Everett | Jul 17, 2009 |
Around Labor Day weekend, Anarchy In Your Head will have been around for about 2 years. It’s been constantly evolving and changing over that time period. I started it barely even knowing how to draw. It’s been a great learning experience for me.
I started with one comic a week on a very loose schedule. I tried to get one out sometime each weekend. Soon after, I set Friday as a date and that helped force me to be a little more disciplined. It started as more of a political editorial cartoon but kind of reluctantly morphed into a comic strip, mostly by pressure of the expectations of others, though that’s a change that I ultimately was happy with. Later I added Wednesday comics. Being on a strict twice weekly schedule kept me coming up with new ideas and drawing regularly. The best way to learn, after all, is by doing. But as they said in X-Men, while evolution moves in little steps, sometimes it takes a major leap forward!
(Read On…)
by Ian | Jul 16, 2009 |
As you probably know, one of the most popular pages on this site is the 111+ Reasons to Move to Keene. At the very bottom of the list, we have an endorsements section including everyone from Penn Jillete to the activists who’ve moved to Keene all talking about how Keene and the activism here are really awesome. Thanks to Charlie G., we’re adding a new section beneath the regular endorsements called “Unintentional Endorsements”, where we’ll highlight some quotes from people who do NOT want liberty activists to move to Keene, but are unintentionally endorsing how effective the movement is. Here are the first two:
- “Not sure how this ends — I’m hoping some town in New Hampshire will step up and say how much they want these people and maybe they’ll just leave. But there seem to be more each day, all here with the idea that they will turn Keene into their model town, so who knows.” – Mike Caulfield, Blue Hampshire Blogger
- “Free Staters are becoming much more active — especially in Keene.” – Elwood P. Dowd, Blue Hampshire Blogger
by Dale Everett | Jul 16, 2009 |
Click to Enlarge
Because it’s obviously impossible to build and maintain roads without violence.
by Ian | Jul 14, 2009 |
Here’s the letter that video journalist Dave Ridley wrote while imprisoned six days for recording video in a public court lobby:
“Outlaw Journalist” defies order to stop recording
July 9, 2009
It is said that silence is often louder than speech, that a voice quashed is more powerful than one left free.
So, as I undertake the third night of a six-day civil disobedience imprisonment, there is no urgent crush to communicate. But it is fitting to outline the events which led here and the cause which fires so many others to suffer a similar path. (more…)
