by Ian | Aug 5, 2015 |
Is there really religious freedom? The state claims in their documents that religions are exempt from taxation. Now, three liberty-oriented churches in New Hampshire are going to court appealing the tax exemption denials of tax assessors statewide. The Concord Monitor’s Nick Reid reported recently on the Church of the Sword, Peaceful Assembly Church, and Shire Free Church‘s efforts to stand for religious freedom:
A church pastor, late to the Sunday service, crashes through the door of a Concord bar, and the congregation inside turns to look. A second pastor, Stu Light, stands on the piste with a foam sword in hand. He calls out to the first pastor: “I look forward to killing you.”
At the Church of the Sword, where belief in a god or gods comes secondary to espousing principles of self-sufficiency and arming oneself, the greeting could be considered their version of “peace be with you.” After all, one of the holy texts of the 5-year-old, nontheistic, New Hampshire-born religion is Sun Tzu’s Art of War.
“We believe in an active struggle against those who would deprive us of life and liberty. We believe in studying and applying the martial path in the judicial and legislative arenas, as well as in self-defense,” says a sampling of the church’s statement of beliefs.
So when the town of Westmoreland said last year, and the Cheshire County Superior Court agreed this year, that the Church of the Sword isn’t a real religion – and therefore doesn’t qualify for a religious tax exemption – they took it as an attack on their freedom and struck back. (more…)
by James Davis | Aug 4, 2015 |
Jury nullification outreach efforts reach new heights in NH
On August 3rd and 4th, New Hampshire activists (organized by Joel Valenzuela of Rights Brigade) reached an incredible six courthouses with jury nullification outreach information supplied by NHJury.com. Activists canvassed much of the state, reaching locations in Dover, Laconia, Brentwood, Concord, Manchester, and Nashua, sharing with jurors the knowledge of their age old right to nullify bad laws.
(more…)
by Ian | Jun 2, 2015 |
James Davis
James Davis, a Free State Project early mover to Dover, was recently published in the Concord Monitor. His article is a lengthy response to an anti-liberty piece that recently appeared there.
In his epic response, James lays out the ideas of liberty and voluntarism and addresses common objections about health care, vice, property rights, and more. It’s an excellent piece and would be a good one to share with people who still believe in “the state”. Here it is:
A recent column posited that Libertarian Party ideals, while they look good on paper, erode freedom (Monitor Forum, May 28). As someone who supported Barack Obama in his first run for the presidency, and even attended his inauguration, I can understand these concerns. But as someone who has since come to self-identify as a libertarian, I think the author (and the Monitor’s readers) could use some clarification as to what the principles of liberty actually are.
The article started with and seemed to revolve around one question: “What exactly do libertarians mean by harm?” This is certainly the heart of the discussion. (more…)
by Garret Ean | Apr 21, 2015 |
A lack of sunshine did not deter the roughly forty individuals who were present for the annual 4/20 celebration at the New Hampshire state house. Multiple outlets captured video and photography of the scene, including a feature published this morning in the Concord Monitor. Attached below is the Monitor article by Nick Reid. For full raw coverage from Fr33manTVraw, check out this playlist.
A group of activists exercised civil disobedience yesterday by smoking marijuana on the steps of the State House and decrying the war on drugs through a megaphone.
At 4:20 p.m. on April 20, the unofficial pot holiday, about 30 participants huddled away from cold rain under the awning at the front of the State House while the event organizer, Rich Paul, kicked things off.
“We smoke these in remembrance of lost liberties,” he called out, “and in hope for a day when the people do not fear the government, because the government fears the people.”
(more…)
by Ian | Apr 20, 2015 |
Rich Paul Addresses the Concord 420 in 2014
Here’s a facebook event with 150 confirmed attending. Come on out, rain (likely) or shine!
by Darryl W. Perry | Apr 1, 2015 |
Today is that special day of the year, where fiction becomes fact, and the truth becomes questionable. However, the following is a very real story first reported by Ballot Access News:
“the Republican National Committee asked a U.S. District Court to intervene in Libertarian Party of New Hampshire v Gardner, 1:14-cv-322. The issue in the lawsuit is the 2013 change to the New Hampshire election law that it made it illegal for a newly-qualifying party to circulate a party petition during an odd year.
The Republican National Committee’s motion says, “This lawsuit challenges a recent New Hampshire amendment to its election laws regarding ballot access by political organizations. The RNC proposes to intervene for the purpose of defending constitutionality of that amendment (sic)…The Republican Party has qualified for access to the New Hampshire general election ballot in 2016. Accordingly, it has a vital interest in New Hampshire’s election regulation in general and, specifically, the requirements for ballot access…the defendant (the Secretary of State) cannot adequately represent the RNC’s interests in this litigation.”
As far as is known, this is the first time any major party national committee has intervened in a constitutional ballot access lawsuit at a time remote from a presidential general election. The Democratic National Committee intervened in some lawsuits involving independent presidential candidate Eugene McCarthy in 1976, John B. Anderson in 1980, and Ralph Nader in 2004. But those interventions were on how certain ballot access laws should be interpreted, not over their constitutionality.”
In the RNC’s “answer” to the LP’s complaint, is laughable. Almost everything is “The allegations in paragraph [x] consist of legal arguments to which no response is required. To the extent that paragraph [x] contains factual allegations, they are denied.” or “The RNC lacks knowledge or information sufficient to form a response to the allegations in [y].” In other words, the Republican Party is seeking to intervene in a ballot access law case, and they don’t know enough about the law or the fact to form opinions; or they simply claim every fact provided is false, without explanation!
Another interesting tidbit involving the case of Libertarian Party of New Hampshire v Gardner is a filing by the Secretary of State (Gardner) to be protected from depositions. That motion was denied!
