Critics: Liberty Activists Have “wreaked havoc” in Keene; FreeKeene is “failing”

by | Mar 3, 2010 | 20 comments

Westmoreland busybody and statist Pam Martens has continued her uninformed hit pieces on Free Staters. Normally they don’t get mentioned here, but this time she mentions Keene activism (it’s such a great quote, I added it to the “unintentional endorsements” section of the 111+ Reasons to Move to Keene.):

the Free State Project holds extremist views and their participants have wreaked havoc in areas like Keene and Grafton. We’ve seen a steady stream of Free Staters taunting the Keene police and ending up in the Westmoreland jail, costing taxpayers dearly.

You can see her full hit piece below. Wreaked havoc? What exactly has been ruined or destroyed in Keene besides old ideas? Are the 420 celebrations wreaking havoc on the idea of prohibition? Quotes like these make it clear that the liberty movement is really bumming out the statists up here. You should come join the fun – just over 25 more signups before the Free State Project reaches 10,000 participants!

We also had a youtube critic send me an angry message where he accuses liberty activists of making an “unimaginable blunder” by holding candlelight vigils outside the homes of government aggressors. (I posted the full text of his message and my reply here.) In it he claims FreeKeene.com is “failing”. Really? By what measure? Failing because some people are upset? What about all the people who appreciate the liberty activists? I imagine liberty activists aren’t too popular amongst those who work for or benefit from the state. We can’t please everyone and shouldn’t try. To say this website is failing, however, is simply a denial of reality. Let’s look at the numbers, shall we? (more…)

A Visitor’s Thoughts on the Keene Liberty Movement

by | Mar 1, 2010 | 3 comments

BJ from Kentucky came up to visit us here in Keene in December and was blown away by the experience. Here’s what he wrote:

“There was once a dream that was Rome. You could only whisper it. Anything more than a whisper, and it would vanish — it was that fragile. And I fear that it will not survive the winter.”

— Emperor Marcus Aurelius Caesar, in Ridley Scott’s Gladiator

In our time, there is a dream that once was, and is no longer there, much like in Marcus Aurelius’ Rome. The founders of the United States of America had something like this in mind when they separated themselves from the British empire. Even in its flaws, their great plan was noble, and for a time it seemed to work.

Then something went terribly wrong. Why? Because there was government, and lots of it. This was a fact I had come to realize years ago, but had felt like there was nothing that could be done to save myself or others from the inevitable police state. Then I heard the whisper, of a dream that was set into motion, and finally one day, I decided it was time to see for myself if this dream really could come true.

Late into the night on December 24th, I set out on the road, headed for Keene, New Hampshire. It was to be an 800-mile journey with long hours and seemingly endless freeways. The purpose of the trip overshadowed any notion that the task at hand would be arduous or unworthy of the attempt. I was going to New Hampshire to explore the nature of the third American Revolution. Yes, third: The American Civil War was the second, and although a failure, was a response to government becoming more vast and intrusive.

The Free State Project is a very simple idea that basically asks those people who believe in freedom and liberty to move to one place where they can be amongst like-minded people, and hopefully reverse the trend toward larger and more powerful government. The idea is to get at least 20,000 people to move there, to join in the activism already taking place, or begin their own. Once 5,000 people had signed the pledge, a vote was taken, and New Hampshire was chosen as the location.

My arrival into Keene was somewhat anticlimactic, as I’d driven all night, and had not slept. So at first I was too busy being tired to admire the scenery around me. This would soon change, as I’d no sooner driven into town and posted on the online forums that I was there, than welcomes and offers to assist me began coming in. (more…)

Audio: WKBK’s “Talkback” 2010-02-20

by | Feb 27, 2010 | 1 comment

Radio TowerLiberty-minded people called “Talkback” on WKBK last week to discuss the housing market, inflation, value creation, the voluntary society, and property rights. Listen as a man who is apparently a former politician calls to go on a paranoid screed about liberty activists, specifically FreeKeene’s Ian.

Grab the archive.

Please join us for our weekly chat and calling sessions on Saturday mornings from 11a-12p in the Liberty Radio Network Chat room. If you’re online, you can listen to Talkback streamed live via the Liberty Radio Network and if you’re in the Keene area you can tune in to WKBK 1290 AM or 104.1 FM. The Talkback discussion thread is here on the Free Keene Forum.

Audio: WKBK’s “Talkback” 2010-02-13

by | Feb 19, 2010 | 2 comments

Radio TowerLiberty-minded people called “Talkback” on WKBK last week to discuss stealing the home of a Marlow man over property taxes, KPD stealing Sam’s camera, the decentralized nature of the liberty movement, anarchy, terminology, the Free State Project board, name-calling allegations, consenting, the city gang threatening the homeless and the people that allow them to live on their property, and working in the system for change.

Grab the archive.

Please join us for our weekly chat and calling sessions on Saturday mornings from 11a-12p in the Liberty Radio Network Chat room. If you’re online, you can listen to Talkback streamed live via the Liberty Radio Network and if you’re in the Keene area you can tune in to WKBK 1290 AM or 104.1 FM. The Talkback discussion thread is here on the Free Keene Forum.