by Ian | Dec 28, 2014 |
Earlier this year, William Baer was arrested at a Gilford school board meeting for speaking out in frustration with the board. The video, shot by Josh Youssef, went viral. After months of waiting for his turn in the “justice” system, the charges were finally dropped. According to Baer in an article posted by Free State Project,
Make no mistake, these three criminal charges against me were not ‘dropped’ by Gilford Police Chief Bean-Burpee and his prosecutor Sergeant Eric Bredbury, they were dismissed by a New Hampshire Circuit Court Judge after a full hearing. In spite of having months to review the law and the facts, the Prosecutor refused to drop the charges or even propose a plea, but rather continued to seek a conviction to justify the State’s violation of my First Amendment right of free speech, and my unlawful arrest.
I was fortunate enough to be experienced in the legal system, and also had the determined, talented, and effective counsel of Mark Sisti and Jared Bedrick of Sisti Law Offices. But what about those who have none of these advantages? One of the most troubling aspects of this experience is having to face the fact that, out of the millions of people arrested every year in the United States, many are unlawfully arrested, maliciously prosecuted, wrongfully convicted, or pressured to plead guilty just to get it over with. Having a jury of one’s peers is supposed to be a check on this system, but NH law precludes a jury trial for a defendant if he is not facing possible incarceration.
Here’s the original arrest video: (more…)
by Ian | Dec 10, 2014 |
It’s not VICE’s first time reporting on a Free State Project participant. They last covered Free Keene blogger Rich Paul facing down decades in prison for selling cannabis. Now, they turn to alcohol in this report on deregulating nanobreweries featuring FSP participant and early mover Kevin Bloom.
In addition to being the founder of the new Area 23 nanobrewery, Kevin is also the political director for the New Hampshire Liberty Alliance. Here’s his interview with VICE.
by Ian | Nov 23, 2014 |
This piece by AP reporter Lynne Tuohy is being published all over and the headlines vary from misleading to acceptable.
For instance, the worst headline of them all is WCVB‘s, which says, “Keene’s parking meter ‘Robin Hooders’ must back off.” When the people calling themselves “the city” tell you you must do something, generally that means it must be done, or else violence will be used against you. In this case, that’s not at all what has happened. The city of Keene folks WANT Robin Hooders to “back off” and they’ve filed a lawsuit to try to force us to. “We want” is very different from “You must”.
The article itself is more honest, and reveals that in fact the city lost their case at superior court and is appealing to the NH supreme court. Obviously, the author of the article does not choose the headlines, that would be one of the editors of the paper. Thanks to Lynne and the AP for the coverage, despite the awful, seemingly default headline.
Here’s a sampling of headlines that various news outlets chose for this story:
You can see even more here, y mas en Español aquí. Looks like the story was printed in several dozen outlets. Thanks especially to those with more honest headlines.
by Ian | Nov 20, 2014 |
As has become fairly common, people are talking about Keene activists across the web. In this case, thanks to the recent hilarious Colbert Report spoof. Here are a few of the many sites featuring the video:
by Ian | Nov 20, 2014 |
It took months for the Colbert Report to air the footage they shot back in June, but it was worth the wait. As expected, they skewered us pretty well! Here’s the hilarious report on Robin Hood of Keene & Free Keene that aired last night on Colbert:
Thanks to Jesse and the rest of the Colbert crew for the coverage. For the record, Chris Cantwell is not a blogger at Free Keene.
by Ian | Nov 19, 2014 |
Just a couple of weeks ago, Bitcoin Magazine ran a story about New Hampshire’s lively Bitcoin scene. Prior to that, Bitcoin Magazine filed a video report from the bitcoin-accepting Stone Farm in Fitzwilliam and reported on this year’s Liberty Forum in Nashua.
Now Cryptocoin Magazine has published a story by Evander Smart that asks, “Is New Hampshire the most Bitcoin-friendly place in the United States?” What do you think?
