The Free Staters are upsetting local bureaucrats again. This time they tried to return freedom to the people by limiting the amount of money local politicians can demand from them. The politicians weren’t happy.
One of the school board members said, “We don’t need a very small minority of people in this community — that do not in any way represent the will of the people — telling us how to do our job.”
Who says court has to be boring? In Keene, 5 activists turned out to support me for a simple parking ticket arraignment. We laughed and joked as one wore a winter hat despite the court rules of decorum prohibiting headwear. We watched as the obedient slaves took their whippings and pled guilty to a bunch of vicimless crimes. Then it was my turn.
I decided ahead of time that I was going to try an experiment: I would remain silent. Would the judge get mad? Would he compel me to speak by threatening arrest? It turns out, he ended up acting as my defense attorney! Watch this 2-minute clip:
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My little sisters are in 7th grade. They’re good students. They work hard, they lead group projects, and they spend hours each night on homework. Tonight, I sent them an email encouraging to drop out.
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Varrin Swearingen is a republican candidate for state house, (Keene at-large) and also the former president of the Free State Project. Varrin has recently re-launched his blog. One of his first new posts is an excellent essay about the chalking and associated violence in Keene:
A few weeks ago, I wrote on my facebook wall:
There’s a hate group in Keene trashing the FSP because they don’t like Free Keene (or Robin Hooding, or something like that).
My status update included more, but the part above about the group called Stop Free Keene (SFK) got considerable attention. Some SFK members were openly hateful towards Free State Project (FSP) participants on the basis of group affiliation. Some were even promoting violence. My message and some of the comment thread was copied into the Stop Free Keene group and generally met with negative responses from SFK members.
In the comment thread on my status message, I noted,
Of course, I’m concerned someone’s going to get hurt… (more…)
This column by state representative Mark Warden appears in the Union Leader, where he expresses frustration with the new gas tax and dumb GPS rules:
This year’s New Hampshire Legislature has launched an attack on anyone who drives an automobile. The Democrat-led House passed two major pieces of legislation that will adversely affect commuters as well as tourists visiting the Granite State.
The first is a four-cent (23 percent) increase in the gasoline tax. Driving to work, taking the kids to school and going on a weekend trip will all be more expensive. Then there is the impact it will have on groceries and other products because of the increased cost of transporting goods to market. Trucking and other transportation businesses will pass along higher expenses to consumers.
This gas tax increase will have negative effects on an already sluggish economy. While many agree that the condition of many roads is lacking, it’s not for lack of funding. The problem with this new legislation is that the money is diverted to other uses that benefit drivers in other parts of the state (such as the I-93 widening project). Only 12 percent of the new revenue is earmarked for grants to municipalities.
Here is the letter-to-the-editor I sent into the Sentinel which was published last Sunday.![yinyang[1]](https://i0.wp.com/freekeene.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/yinyang1-300x300.jpg?resize=126%2C126)
I am still interested in discussing any concerns anyone has.
Letter Below:
You may have heard about the “Stop Free Keene” group. I see this development as positive, since I believe that if someone has concerns with other people’s actions, they should let others know, a principle that Free Keene shares.
Unfortunately, my admiration for the group is offset by the rhetoric I’ve seen from the group. Often, many comments on their Facebook group are negative. They often resort to name calling, personal attacks and even advocating for violence toward bloggers of Free Keene. I’m fine with someone disagreeing and calling names, but it’s not OK to think violence is acceptable.
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