Porcfest – Corporates taking over the event and why I didn’t go this year • Gov thugs try to shakedown Pfest vendors • Unlicensed free market vending • Brick: The Movie • City of Keene stuff: Good ol’ boy consultants, the great pension scam, increased tax rate, and mandatory raises forever! • Study claims conspiracy theorists will believe anything • Shaunna, Rapsher, and Joe join • Show notes at BlackSheepRising.org
One man’s trash • Ji is free! • All drink and no food • Turn that fire down • The bellamy salute and some pesky kid who won’t stand for the pledge • Activists head back to school • VT cop gets snickerdoodled • Local sheep segregating by color? • Darryl, Shaunna, Tim, and Rapsher join • Show notes at: BlackSheepRising.org
![uber-app[1]](https://i0.wp.com/freekeene.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/uber-app1-300x146.jpg?resize=300%2C146)
In a move that shows the true nature of the state and regulations, the Manchester aldermen voted 10-3 recently to require UBER to obey their “Vehicles for Hire” ordinance which requires background checks, drug testing, and other bureaucratic nonsense. The lie of regulations is that they exist supposedly to protect you, the consumer. However, they actually just protect the established businesses in the given field. In this case, the old-guard cab companies are being protected from the innovative upstart. Regulations keep poor people poor, by making it near-impossible for them to go into business for themselves.
Despite the now possible threat of Manchester police targeting UBER drivers, heroically, UBER has announced they will continue to operate within Manchester and will likely give legal assistance to any drivers the city gang cites for violating the gang’s precious “code” (“Vehicles for Hire” is section 118). It looks like UBER is ready to go to court over this, as has been their tradition in other cities.
Of course, a free place to live would allow anyone to contract with anyone they like for a ride somewhere. The taxi companies should also be free of regulations, not just UBER. Allow the marketplace to come up with standards, if they are necessary. The cab companies will need to be free of regulatory burden to effectively compete against the nimble new competitor, UBER.
UBER’s argument, as I understand it, is they are not a taxicab company, for which all the regulations are written. UBER does not own any of the cars that its users end up riding in. UBER merely facilitates a smooth transaction between the rider and driver. It’s a matchmaking company. The next step, which may have even UBER worried, is to decentralize ride-sharing even further, to where no company is needed to make the connections between rider and driver. That actually is being worked on now, and it has a terrible name, LaZooz, but the technology is already here (and based in cryptocurrency like bitcoin) – it’s only a matter of time and software development, and participants.
For now though, UBER and other ridesharing competitors like Lyft, are innovating in a way that expands consumer choice, increases service available overall, drives down price, and rewards entrepreneurs. No wonder the city gang wants to stop them! They disrupt the current good ol’ boys network. (more…)
One month of treasure hunting. What have I learned? • Penn J. Loses a bunch of weight. So does W • NH hands free law. Doin it for the kids • No douchebags in Kroger. Open carry welcome • Grand Theft Cantwell • Political, Spirtual, Revolutionary Hip Hop • Can’t escape ALDI • Interstate 60 movie review • Signs everywhere! • Darryl, Rapsher, and X join.
Bye-bye Wally World. You shan’t be missed • One man’s trash, Another man’s treasure • Robin Hood in jail. Again • Prison scam card • Cannabis Lapidares Leporidae. Without government who will protect the bunnies? • Duh, it’s a steakcutter! • 100 year old patent finally lays the age old debate to rest • Robocop 2014 review • James and Shaunna join • Show notes at: BlackSheepRising.org
Mr Smith goes to Washington
Mention government corruption, wasteful spending, crony politics and most minds will undoubtedly go straight to the sleaze pit we know as Washington D.C. Try to convince your neighbor that that same ooze may lie closer to home at the municipal level and you’ll likely run into some opposition. After all, we’re talking about our neighbors. Our co-workers. These are local heroes who take time out of their busy lives to make ours better.
They are also human. Just as corruptible and just as likely to misuse public funds as the parasites in DC. Let me explain.
Last year the Keene School District unabashedly spent $24,000 of our money to advertise its very controversial Article 1 that dealt with the acquiring of a $13 million bond for school renovations and the subsequent closing of Jonathan Daniels Elementary. They placed pro-article 1 ads in the Sentinel, the Shopper, on WKBK radio, and blanketed the city in campaign signs. For those unaware, the act of using government property to influence the results of a vote is known as electioneering and is illegal in the state of NH (RSA 659:44-a). The school board justified this act by claiming a need to “educate” the folks on current affairs. This is nothing new, really. Governmental departments across the country are guilty of using public funds to perpetuate their own agenda. The problem is no one is calling them out on it.
When asked what he thought of this misuse of taxpayer money, KSD attorney, John Wrigley, had this to say: “I think the school board has an obligation to inform and to educate… In 30 years I’ve been doing this I’ve seen the board over-extend itself more than once. I sit there and I look at something and I say, “Whoa I hope no one asks me about that.” But those are specific details that sometimes I trip across. I think on the whole, the board does it right, it has public hearings to inform and to educate. …but, I think sometimes they over-extend themselves. But I think it’s all in good faith…we’re not talking about Richard Daley in Chicago and that sort of thing.”
So in other words, it’s ok to break the law as long as it’s for the kids and as long as it’s not Richard Daley level. Had you or I attempted this same stunt, we would be looking at fines and or imprisonment. It’s true. Badges and titles do grant special privileges to some.
Need another example of how KSD spends your money? (more…)
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