The KAC is constitutionally protected. Your raids don’t scare us, Fred.

by | Jun 15, 2012 | 4 comments

Local code enforcer and former Keene police detective (yes, he is collecting his pension and still working for the city – sweet deal!) Fred Parsells appears to have taken me and the Keene Activity Center on as his pet project. Fred’s told me on more than one occasion that he thinks I’m going to leave Keene and it seems like he’s trying his best to ensure that happens.

Sorry Fred, it’s not happening. First, your case is pretty weak to begin with. You’re attempting to prove that the KAC is a “lodginghouse” by relying on old evidence collected from posts made online by former tenants, who are not currently living at the KAC. Even if the former tenants were running a “lodginghouse”, that’s not evidence that the current tenants are. Local robed man Ed Burke signed your permission slip to come raid the KAC, but that merely resulted in you finding some bunk beds – that’s not proof of anything.

There are more reasons why the KAC is not a “lodginghouse”, as I understand it, but that’s not the point of this piece. The point is, whether or not it’s a “lodginghouse” doesn’t matter. The Keene Activity Center is a project protected by Article Ten of the Bill of Rights in the NH Constitution to which Fred Parsells swore an oath. What is Article Ten? Here it is:

[Art.] 10. [Right of Revolution.] Government being instituted for the common benefit, protection, and security, of the whole community, and not for the private interest or emolument of any one man, family, or class of men; therefore, whenever the ends of government are perverted, and public liberty manifestly endangered, and all other means of redress are ineffectual, the people may, and of right ought to reform the old, or establish a new government. The doctrine of nonresistance against arbitrary power, and oppression, is absurd, slavish, and destructive of the good and happiness of mankind.

Is the New Hampshire Supreme Court ready to take this issue on over a “lodging house” issue?  Is the Attorney General ready to invest tens of thousands of taxpayer dollars over this?

Lets wait and see…

State of NH Continues to Screw Third Parties

by | Jun 13, 2012 | 2 comments

Here’s a piece from the Nashua Telegraph that lays out how the state government has made it even harder for third parties to qualify for the ballot.

Many people support keeping third parties off the ballot, presumably because they know how much of a threat extra choices are to the establishment. Currently the LP is involved in a petition drive to secure party-wide ballot access. 13,000 signatures are required. However, if successful, it only lasts for this year’s election… UNLESS a statewide candidate from the LP receives at least 4% of the vote, which has never happened.

The system is built to prevent choice.

The Dark Side of the Greyhound Deal

by | Jun 9, 2012 | 12 comments

As you may have seen in my last post, Greyhound services will stay in Keene.  Part of the news report from the Sentinel said that it was due to them coming to an agreement with the Vermont DOT.  Turns out that the agreement in question was regarding a subsidy.

Yes, Greyhound is apparently now a government funded operation.  Actually, this probably isn’t the first time they have taken money from the state.  I am curious as to how many of their routes are subsidized.

It is hard to blame them.  Businesses in the transportation industry are heavily regulated, so it is understandable why one would take a subsidy if it were available, though strings are likely attached.

More state involvement leads to further state involvement.  Ugh.

The Chalking 8: Raw Footage Released

by | Jun 5, 2012 | 0 comments

Earlier today I made public my raw footage taken the day of the police brutality protest outside of Manchester PD on June 4, 2011. The video begins around 4:20 in the afternoon with myself offering chalk to the small crowd gathering across the street before I take an exploratory walk into the police station. I spend the next few minutes inside, talking with civilians at the police department and watching out of the window as the protest swells. The chalking gets well underway while I am still inside, and police approach the crowd, but do not intervene. Time passes, some chalking spreads to the walls of the building, and the police reappear, this time ready to write tickets under the city’s vague graffiti ordinance. Moments after two chalkers are approached, they are arrested upon not immediately presenting identification. Once they are dragged inside, an order is given to start taking cameras from those present outside. Keeping my distance, I try to get as close as possible to get footage of the camera grabbing without becoming victimized myself. Shortly thereafter, two more arrests happen inside while my camera runs on the action outside. The last few moments of my video portray a more relaxed scene, as some of us present converse with officers stationed outside about everything from the events of the day to the morality of modern policing. After the sole battery I owned at the time exhausted, the final four arrests, including my own, would occur.

For the public record, here’s fifty-three minutes of unedited footage from the scene of the Chalking 8 incident.

The Chalking 8: Happy Anniversary!

by | Jun 4, 2012 | 1 comment

One year ago today, myself and seven neighbors became the Chalking 8, when we were arrested at a protest outside of the Manchester police department on various charges. Three of the eight quietly plead out to a violation charge, simply to avoid having to finance a court battle over a criminal charge. Representing myself without an attorney at trial, I was able to beat two criminal charges. Ademo Freeman and Wes Gilreath were found guilty of chalking the Manchester police station, and while Ademo has a superior court trial pending, Wes sits in Valley Street jail, not just for the chalking charge, but also for having missed an earlier court date in the process, which was called ‘contempt of court’. He’s been incarcerated since January, and will hopefully be released in the coming weeks.

Kate Ager had a jury trial in May, in which she was found guilty of resisting arrest for what three officers testified was a one to three second delay of the arrest. She was not tried in superior court for the charge under which she was arrested (disorderly conduct) a charge which she was found guilty of at the non-criminal violation level of in district court, thus making the arrest charge itself ineligible to be heard by a jury. The full trial was filmed by two videographers, myself and Ian Freeman. You can see my full trial video in four parts here, and Ian’s footage here.

Yesterday Ademo posted to Free Keene and Cop Block an update on his case. His jury selection and trial dates were sent in an odd envelope to a random address from the court, and the prosecutor is trying to use the government’s error to prevent him from receiving a jury trial. The Cop Block post with video is here.

Today’s rain makes it a less than ideal day to chalk the police in anniversary. Keep an eye on Free Concord for more coverage of the Chalking 8 case.