“Not PorcFest” Event Hindered

Due to dishonest accusations from an anonymous source, Mountain Lake Campground has turned away the organizers of Not PorcFest.  Despite Ian Freeman not being involved in organizing the event at all, the false allegations against him were cited specifically as a reason for this decision.

I am now even more determined for Not PorcFest to be a success.  Send me a private message if you’ve got new venue suggestions.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I2Qc7rBGxhk

The Start of a New Era and Saying Goodbye to Porcfest.

The past few weeks as a Free Stater has been some of the most heart breaking moments of my life. I’ve witnessed the witch hunt by OG Free Staters and FSP Inc supporters to label Ian Freeman as a pedophile. There was even a petition that was circulating which has since been removed demanding the FSP to remove FTL/LRN from all business partnerships based off the acusations of Ian supporting pedophelia. These haters have been ferocious and with out mercy. I have also witnessed FSP Inc cut all business ties with FTL/LRN.FM which I may disagree with but business is business. However, in a blog posted by the president of the Free State Project Matt Phillips, they also banned Ian from all future FSP Inc events including Porcfest and Liberty Forum.

Ian Freeman may be wrong on some issues and I am not hundred percent behind his position of age of consent. That being said Ian is one of the most peaceful/pacifist people I have ever met. He has also done more for the Free State Project and liberty than all of his haters combined. Furthermore, with so much hate coming from FSP Inc and their supporters, myself and my fiance Ann Leverette in good conscience could not bare to share our love at Porcfest with our wedding. We have announced that going forward we will be boycotting all future FSP Inc events and we will not be attending Porcfest. The Rebel Love Wedding will also not be held at Porcfest but instead NH Hempfest instead. This all happened relatively quickly and we took to the LRN.FM airwaves Friday night on Anarchy After Dark to go into detail about what has happened and what led us to this heart breaking decision. Never fear though, there is light and love on the other side. Plus the Shire is still an amazing place to live. Listen to this episode to understand why.
podcast:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I6mwpCXVTOU&feature=youtu.be

I’m no longer a Free Stater, but you should go to Porcfest and definitely move to NH, if you love liberty.

Porcfest Sunrise

The Sun Rises over Porcfest 2012

I tendered my resignation from the Free State Project today after being informed that they have decided to prohibit me from their events, the Porcupine Freedom Festival and Liberty Forum.  My name was still on the membership rolls after their announcement, so I removed it, wishing the FSP the best.

With the banning, I became the latest inducted in the elite club of people like Christopher Cantwell and Zack Bass who have been similarly politically excised from the FSP organization.

It was a good run, but all things come to an end.  I’m grateful for my more than a decade of helping to promote the Free State Project, and look forward to 20,000+ liberty-loving people coming here to New Hampshire and working toward freedom.

I know people have said they won’t be attending Porcfest this year due to the FSP’s decision, and I appreciate their sentiment, but to anyone who doesn’t feel as strongly, you should still attend the Porcupine Freedom Festival this June.   (more…)

VIDEO: Activists “Run for the Border” to Derby Line, VT

This year’s Porcupine Freedom Festival included an epic video of two NH tax collectors trying and failing to crack down on unlicensed vendors, but that wasn’t the only interaction that Porcfest attendees had with police.

Early in the week, several liberty activists made a “run for the border” and drove a couple hours from Lancaster, NH to Derby Line, VT which features the imaginary political line crossing through the middle of the Haskell library. We wanted to see it for ourselves as well as attempting to cross on foot with various forms of identification, including the World Passport.

Here’s a 24-minute short documentary covering what we saw and what we learned. In short, one can cross to Canada with only a driver’s license and despite what the US federal government claims, you don’t need a passport to cross back into the US, but they might hassle you. Also, Derby Line, VT and Stanstead, Quebec have been hurt economically by the border-tightening that happened around 2007. Derby Line’s commercial property is nearly completely empty, and several homes are on the market for sale. Stanstead is in somewhat better shape.

Who would want to live where most of the cars on the streets are Border Patrol vehicles? That’s life in the ghost town of Derby Line, a microcosm of what will happen to the United States if the borders continue to tighten – freedom and the economy will suffer.

The Long Road Home (to the ‘shire!)

I heard Jason Sorens speak in 2005. He advocated that liberty-oriented individuals around the globe vote with their feet and relocate to New Hampshire (NH) as part of the Free State Project – to pursue liberty in our lifetime. I was intrigued. A month later I drove from DC to Lancaster to attend PorcFest. I was present for less than 24 hours. That was plenty of time to recognize the potential of the idea.

I then got involved with the Mid-Atlantic Free State Project group whilst living in northern Virginia. I valued my experiences there – getting better acquainted with Austrian Economics and its implications, and cultivating other knowledge and skills – but the thought of moving to NH tugged at me. It was appealing to not just talk about liberty, but to actively pursue it.

In 2009 I relocated to NH, which I now call “the ‘shire” for its magical qualities. Keene was homebase for The Motorhome Diaries and Liberty on Tour, as well the place that Cop Block was incubated. It became clear when I was on the road with those projects that, while there are growing pockets of communities who internalize the ideas of self-ownership, the ‘shire was special.

In 2014 – at PorcFest, of course – I met the person who, in 2015, agreed to be my life partner. That fine lady, if you’re unaware, is Amanda B. Johnson. We plan to re-up each year, so long as we’re both still having fun. Based on our frequency of laughs and smiles and songs, I’d say we’re on a good trajectory.

tamworth the shire pete eyre amanda b. johnson freekeene.com 600x400

Amanda B. Johnson and Pete Eyre in Tamworth, the ‘shire

In late 2014 Amanda and I left the ‘shire for Oklahoma City where I got top-notch surgery to repair my ripped bicep. The friendly and entrepreneurial folks at the Oklahoma Surgery Center agreed to be paid entirely in Bitcoin and gold. And the anesthesiologist’s own son was super into Cop Block! (more…)