NH Jury activists gathered this morning outside Cheshire superior court in Keene to perform jury outreach prior to jury selection for the trial of James Cleaveland which begins tomorrow morning (Tuesday 12/15) at 9am.
James is facing two “Class A” misdemeanor charges with a possibility of up to two years in prison for being arrested while recording video of police at the scene of a suicidal man in the summer of 2014. The charges are “disorderly conduct” (the state’s favorite catch-all charge) and “resisting arrest”.
James has already had a bench trial at Keene district court, the video of which can be seen here, and was found guilty. District court judge Edward J Burke sentenced him to 1.5 years in jail, suspended, plus a $625 fine. After sentencing, James opted for his right to a jury trial “de novo”, which means, “from the beginning”. So now, not quite a year later, he is being given that trial.
This morning was jury selection. Nearly all of the jury pool of about 58 people had received the NH Jury trifold last month. (In Cheshire county, petit juries are empaneled for two months.) Usually the jury outreach process involves handing out flyers and opening the door for folks, but in addition today it included activists holding signs featuring phrases like, “2 Years 4 Filming?”, and “Filming the police is not a crime!”
More activists are expected to be on-the-scene tomorrow morning at 8am for further sign-holding, with the trial starting at 9am and expected to last two days. If you can’t make it in person, live tweets will be available here at FreeKeene.com and later the full trial video will be posted.
In past years the media panels at Keenevention have been nuts-and-bolts how-tos on being the media. This year was similarly informative and useful, focusing on monetizing liberty media efforts. Shire Dude headed up an excellent panel of experienced liberty media producers for this year’s Media Panel. Panelists included Derrick J Freeman of Flaming Freedom, Darryl W. Perry of Free Press Publications, and Brett Veinotte of the School Sucks Project. Here’s the full, nearly-90-minute panel:
Big thanks to our 2015 video sponsor – Roberts & Roberts Brokerage – when you’re serious about precious metals – they take bitcoin!
Presidential season is in full swing — and what better way to celebrate than by indulging in the latest episode of AKPF #1? In this week’s installment, ‘BarnStorm‘, we tour the vile underbelly of modern political figure’s social media ventures. Primarily focusing on Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump (also known as Barnie Sandlers and Dolan Tramp), we are also treated to appearances by lesser candidates such as a metal version of Ben Carson and DWP. Stay tuned to the very end for a sneak preview of the newest colorful coins in circulation.
Over the past two weeks, I provided 16 hours of availability for the 20 candidates for city council (10 At-Large and 2 from each of the 5 Wards) to come to the Cheshire TV studios to record a 5 minute segment for Candidates’ Spotlight. I’d like to thank the candidates who made the effort to come to Cheshire TV to record a segment for Candidates’ Spotlight.
Click on a candidate’s name to watch their segment:
After organizing and hosting the recent Mayoral Debate that aired live on Cheshire TV, I was encouraged to do something for City Council candidates. Because of the difficulty of coordinating 20 people into a single event, I decided to give candidates an opportunity to record a segment to air on Cheshire TV, and thus Candidates’ Spotlight was born. Candidates’ Spotlight will give local candidates a platform to speak to the community about the issues they find important during upcoming municipal, school board and state rep elections.
In order to give ample opportunity for candidates to record their 5 minute segment, I set aside 16 hours over the course of two weeks, (4 hours each Tuesday and Thursday, last week & this) for candidates to record their segment presenting their ideas to the public. The video segments are airing on Cheshire TV as filler content, and will be compiled into a long-form program also to air on CTV.
In my latest LTE to the Keene Sentinel I address my concerns over a ridiculous road project funded by federal grants that the city is trying to execute in my quiet neighborhood in north Keene. Because, you know, free money.
Well, they’re at it again. The federal grant-chasers of America are doing what they do best — finding expensive projects to invest in that we didn’t know we actually needed. Enter the Jonathan Daniels Road Calming Pilot project, an initiative to get more kids riding their bikes to school by adding more safety features to our already safe roads. Never mind the fact that this is the last year of JD Elementary. To get a better idea of their proposed plan I attended their Tuesday night meeting for questions and comments.
In order to receive the $132,000 grant, the project must be carried out by outside contractors. The city, which could probably perform this same project for a fraction of the cost, cannot be involved in the hands-on labor. Sounds fishy already. Some of the costs listed included $2,000 stripped road crossings, $5,000 radar speed signs, and $6,000 raised crosswalks.
“But it’s free money.” No. There is no such thing. Someone is picking up the check. In this case it’s getting tacked right on to the federal credit card.
“But think of the children.” I am thinking of the kids. Like my daughter, who stands to inherit this massive credit card bill.
“But this project could prevent future accidents.” What accidents? Between 2007-10 (the stats that were included in the project plan) there were 15 total accidents. All of them were minor, including the school bus that hit a parked car, and all occurred on Maple Ave. or in the school parking lot. Not a single accident occurred in Maple Acres, where the proposed project will be implemented.
“But more signs will make us safer.” No. This city is already suffering information overload from too many signs. Drivers should be paying attention to the roads, pedestrians and other vehicles, and not be lambasted by some sign every 20 feet. If anything, the city of Keene should be emulating the street system we have in Maple Acres: wide-open streets with limited street signage and road markers. (more…)
In my latest 
