City Councilors “On the Fence” Regarding BEARCAT – Please Call ASAP

by | Feb 29, 2012 | 6 comments

NO BEARCATI just got off the phone with a local business owner.  I was told that while at least a few city councilors have committed to voting against the BEARCAT, others have said they are on the fence. The vote is tomorrow night, March 1st. Please take the time to call as many of the city councilors as possible and tell them how you feel about the BEARCAT. Reports are that the pro-BEARCAT people are calling too and are trying to make this out to be a Free Keene-only issue. We know that the BEARCAT is opposed by the supermajority of Keene and FK is merely but one aspect of the opposition to this, but the councilors may not realize this, especially with the misinformation campaign being waged by the FK haters.

Here are the city councilors’ numbers. Please don’t delay. If we turn around this vote, we can make history by being the only place to ever refuse a BEARCAT, and perhaps we could start a trend of more refusals around the country.

Janis Manwaring 352-7185
Dave Richards 352-1084
Phil Jones 358-5016
James Duffy 357-8761
June Donegan 357-3827
Dave Meader 357-1340
Thom Powers 357-3738
Chris Roberts 352-1105
Dale Pregent 352-6736
Ruth Venezia 352-4822
Carl Jacobs 352-0421
Bettina Chadbourne 852-6173
Terry Clark~ AGAINST IT

If a councilor expresses support for the BEARCAT, you may want to inform them that you will campaign against them if they run for re-election.

P.S. You can buy “Thanks but No Tanks” T-shirts now at Corner News! Please attend Thursday night’s meeting at 7pm in city hall, but show up early to get a seat. Last time they stopped allowing people inside due to the large numbers of attendees. Bring a sign or wear a TBNT shirt, because you won’t be allowed to speak at this meeting. See you there.

Another Anti-BEARCAT Letter to the Sentinel

by | Feb 28, 2012 | 4 comments

NO BEARCATThe Sentinel publishes a letter from David Crawford about speaking out to city councilors regarding the BEARCAT:

BearCat: Call your city councilor!

Hundreds of Keene residents and businesses signed a petition against the BearCat. More than 30 letters to the editor since mid December, when it started.

An online poll done by The Sentinel with 87 percent opposed or wanting it to be reconsidered.

All this presented to the councilors by an overflow crowd; people had to be turned away for fire regulations! (more…)

Anti-BearCat / Pro-Peace Outreach at KSC

by | Feb 17, 2012 | 3 comments

Considering that the front page of the school newspaper displays a graphic which actually appears as though a BearCat is driving right on BEARCATthrough, I was a bit surprised that more students weren’t familiar with this issue already.  However, despite the cloudy grey afternoon, Ian, Derrick J., and I managed to distribute over 300 “Thanks, but no tanks” flyers to students throughout the KSC campus.

Most were extremely receptive and happy to take the flyer.  I continued the discussion past that point with quite a few students and received some pretty colorful feedback, ranging from surprise to dismay to anger.  Strong language was used in several instances, and one student pondered using the BearCat as a public restroom. (more…)

WMUR Reports on “Thanks but no Tanks”!

by | Feb 15, 2012 | 11 comments

WMUR reports on the “Thanks but no Tanks” anti-BEARCAT movement here in Keene. Unfortunately, they get the information wrong that it’s “free staters” who are the opposition to this monstrosity. In their video you can see local, longtime NH inhabitant David Crawford singing with us “flatlanders”. I never once used the terms “free state” or “free stater” with the reporter, and told her I was a blogger at Free Keene, yet FK did not get a mention and they titled me “Free State Blogger”. Here is the report as aired on tonight’s newscast:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xy8BYn0CVnE

Here’s another video posted to their site of just the “Thanks but no Tanks” singing at city hall: (more…)