by Ian | Feb 16, 2012 |
Thanks to Jason Ditz from Antiwar.com for this piece on the BEARCAT and the opposition in Keene:
Readers may already be familiar with the tiny town of Keene, NH despite its population of some 20,000 people in rural New Hampshire. The town has been a major site for the Free State Project and radio advertisements mentioning Keene are heard regularly when listening to Antiwar Radio on LRN.
You may or may not be familiar with Lenco Industries, a Pittsfield, MA-based company that manufactures heavily armored vehicles for government agencies. But even if you are familiar with both, you might not have imagined that the twain should ever meet.
But the Department of Homeland Security is seeing to it that they have, throwing $285,933 in grant money at the Keene city government to buy what their mayor referred to as “our own tank.” (more…)
by Ian | Feb 15, 2012 |
Henry Acton of Keene emailed FK via news at freekeene.com with this essay on why you should support the BEARCAT:
Hello my fellow New Hampsters!
I’ve been reading with great interest the debate about the LENCO Bearcat Armored Personnel Carrier. I have decided to support Keene obtaining this fine piece of military hardware. This might surprise some of those of you who know me so I thought I would explain why.
There are two main sets of arguments as to why Keene needs such a beast of a vehicle. (more…)
by Ian | Feb 15, 2012 |
WMUR reports on the “Thanks but no Tanks” anti-BEARCAT movement here in Keene. Unfortunately, they get the information wrong that it’s “free staters” who are the opposition to this monstrosity. In their video you can see local, longtime NH inhabitant David Crawford singing with us “flatlanders”. I never once used the terms “free state” or “free stater” with the reporter, and told her I was a blogger at Free Keene, yet FK did not get a mention and they titled me “Free State Blogger”. Here is the report as aired on tonight’s newscast:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xy8BYn0CVnE
Here’s another video posted to their site of just the “Thanks but no Tanks” singing at city hall: (more…)
by Ian | Feb 15, 2012 |
Thanks to Christopher Elliott at the Huffington Post for linking to Kelly and Derrick J.’s “Don’t Strip our Rights” protest/outreach video at Manchester Airport in this article.
Oh, and you are invited to the next “Don’t Strip Our Rights” event at MHT, 2/24 at 5:30pm. It will also be a “Live Free or Dance” party. Here’s the facebook event.
by Ian | Feb 15, 2012 |
The Shire Choir has been performing this song to the tune of Three Dog Night’s “Joy to the World” at city councilors’ homes. Some like it, one threatened us with arrest. Courtesy ThanksbutnoTanks.com:
City council wants a BEARCAT.
Uncle gives ‘em out for free.
They’re telling us that it’s to catch the terrorists,
But they’ve set their sights on you and me.
They’ll be using it on you and me.
That’s why we’re singing:
CHORUS:
Thanks–but no tanks.
Thanks–but no tanks.
Thank you for nothing city bureaucrats.
Thanks… but no bearcat! (more…)
