[Ian sent this letter to the Keene Sentinel editors from jail via Mail-to-Jail]
Ian Freeman
825 Marlboro Rd.
Keene, NH 03431
Letter to the Editor (from Jail)
More Police Will Not Stop Robberies, Violence, and Theft in Keene.
Many Keene inhabitants are rightly concerned with the recent incidents of real crimes like robberies, thefts, fights, and even murder. It is understandable that typical response amounts to, “We need more police on the streets!”
Unfortunately, this only provides the illusion of security. The police cannot be everywhere at once. Even they will tell you they usually arrive on-scene after a crime has already ben committed. If they manage to find the money to hire another officer or two, the politicians can pat themselves on the back and pretend they have done something about crime. At best, more police only addresses a symptom – not the root cause of most of these crimes.
What is the root cause? Drug prohibition. Don’t believe me? Any honest policemen will tell you 80% of them want money to buy illegal drugs. The recent tragic murder in Keene wasn’t some random fight between friends, as has been suggested here in the Sentinel. The fight was over $100 in cocaine and the victim was attempting to collect the debt. (more…)
“KPD Shows True Colors with Parking Meter Proposal & What to Do About it”
Keene Police Chief Ken Meola tipped his hand recently with his proposal to switch from the parking meters littering beautiful downtown Keene that many know and detest to a new system of kiosks.” Each unit will replace several meters and unlike meters in other cities, thees do not require the user to place a receipt on the dash.
Please forgive my inexact numbers. I write this from my jail cell and do not have source material in front of me. I’m going by my memory of recent Keene Sentinel pieces on the subject.
Considering, if I recall correctly, that KPD rakes in over $300,000 per year from the current system, one might wonder what the motivation is to change a system that is “working.” (Though I have heard rumor that the Parking Division actually runs in the red. I would love to have this confirmed or denied. Regardless, that information doesn’t change the point of this post.) (more…)
Hello from the Keene Spiritual Retreat, aka, the Cheshire County “House of Corrections!” In case you aren’t aware, I have been sentenced to 90 days here (plus 270 days “suspended”) for the “crime” of “obstructing government administration.” In other words, my friend Heika was being kidnapped by the people calling themselves the Keene Police because she was enjoying an afternoon in the park with an alcoholic beverage, and I chose to peacefully stand in front of police car to prevent the kidnapper’s escape. Turns out, I merely delayed them for a few minutes before they kidnapped me and the other brave activists who stove in front of, and behind the police cruisers -Rich Paul, Meg McLain, and Wes Gilreath.
So began an odyssey into “legal land” that has lasted over a year. Apparently, waiting over a year for a trial is “speedy.” That is one of several absurdities about this sick, slow, stupid system to which we are all subjected, that I experienced personally. Here are some more “highlights,” which you will be able to see in the trio video, thanks to Talley.TV:
• KPD’s Jason Thompson admits that he doesn’t really think about liberty, even though it’s his fundamental duty to protect it, according to KPD’s “Statement of Ethics”
• KPD’s Colin Zamore appears to be oblivious to what “subject” means, even though he and fellow officers use it all the time to refer to us non-police-folk
• “judge” John P. Arnold claims the constitution does not apply in this case
• Arnold ejects members of the public from court under threat of violence because their moral or religious beliefs prevent them from standing for another man.
There are more, but I only have so much space. Another interesting aspect was the jury. This was the third jury trial in Keene, and the first time they have returned a non-guilty verdict. They found me not guilty of “resisting arrant.” Unfortunately, they found me guilty of the “obstructing” charge, which is why I am in jail. There had been jury nullification outreach done to the potential jurors and the concept was the cornerstone of my defense. Was their “not guilty” a nullification? I’d speculate it wasn’t, but simply their decision regarding the facts of the case. Perhaps someday we will know for sure, as I have heard NHJury.com intends to contact them with a survey.
So here I sit at the Keene Spiritual Retreat, as my work responsibilities go unmet and email piles up – I am having months of my life stolen from me because I delayed the police for five minutes! It’s a clear violation of NH Constitution Article 18, which says punishments should be proportionate to the crime. Of course, if you are reading this, you probably know the government people don’t give a damn about their founding document, or any of their rules, for that matter. Look at the camera/audio ban at “Superior Court” – it violates both the NH Constitution and RSA 91-A:4, but good luck getting anyone to enforce their own laws on their buddies!
I am already jotting down ideas for future blogs from jail – for now though, I bid you goodbye. First though, THANK YOU to all who came to my trial and to everyone who has moved or will be moving to New Hampshire as part of the Free State Project. The more people who come here and get active in the way that is right for them, the better our chances of someday living free. Special thanks to the financial uprooters or Mail-to-Jail.com – one of the most useful activist tools out there!
Lets assume you’re the owner of a business and you employ five people. One day you find out that one of your employees is threatening people to make sales. You didn’t approve of this tactic and quickly move on this information. You call in the employee and address the situation. You explain to them that threatening people is not how you conduct business and even though it might produce larger sales in the short term, it will ultimately destroy the company – ending both your jobs. Hopefully the employee will understand and adapts (or atleast respects) to your request. Though it’s possible they wouldn’t (adapt) and you’d have to fire them. Either way, in business, when you don’t agree with your employee (or with your employer) you have the option to end the relationship (on either side).
Let’s go one step further and bring police into the scenario. Police are paid for with tax dollars and tax dollars are collected from taxpayers. Essentially, taxpayers are the employer’s of the police and, just like any other business, the employer has the right to tell the employee if (and/or when) they don’t approve of their employees actions. Right? Yet, there is NO real course of action one can take to stop police from doing something you don’t like or want, like regular employers can. You can’t physically stop the police officer, nor can you fire a police officer and you can’t stop paying taxes either – we all know what happens if you do. So, what can you do?
Think you have freedom of the press? Think again. Watch as Sheriff Richard Foote emerges from the Cheshire superior court to threaten journalists with arrest if they come inside the ostensibly “public” building:
