Click on the Press link to the right or click here to see the pdf.
Happy New Year!
Click read on for an excerpt from the January issue of the Free Keene Press
Editorial
Keene has become a hotbed for challenging unjust law. 2009 has seen a lot of activism ranging from cameras in the court room to cannabis in central square. Time and again peaceful people, causing no harm to person or property, have been arrested and placed into cages.
These individuals are then processed through an intricate legal system replete with a special language. A trial is held and the individual is judged and prosecuted by people who work for the state. On the stand there is no injured victim to come forth and testify against the law-breaker and there is no property owner to claim damages; the only witness is another employee of the state.
Clearly the deck is stacked in favor of the state. You are forced to take off work, enter a hostile and foreign environment and defend yourself from a fictitious victim, wrought of the interpretation of words on paper, by a man who gets paid to take your money. And they call it justice.
Looking ahead to 2010 there are many such trials set to take place. Some relating to the 420 event arrests, the arrests that occurred during Pumpkin Fest as well as many others. Those interested in attending the trials or simply curious about the status should visit the blog at FreeKeene.com for the latest news. Trial dates change and charges are dropped at the last minute but a quick check of the blog will help keep you up-to-date.
Coming this spring is the semi-annual Free Keene Fest which is always full of surprises.  April 20th will see the return of cannabis celebrations at central square — I use the term celebration as that best describes the mood of participants. New movers keep arriving and they come with new ideas and the gumption to get things done so there is no telling what direction future activism will take.
One factor is known, FreeKeene.com and the Free Keene Press continue to advocate only peaceful means to bring about change.
Peace be with you,
James B Schlessinger Jr.
