This week’s AKPF #1 installment features no content of particular offense to the audiences of You Tube, enabling it to be viewed by a much wider demographic. Enjoy special episode Trielium, featuring footage captured in Keene on October 02, 2015.
I got a sad letter from my attorney this week. He informed me that the Supreme Court of NH upheld the lower court’s decision to deny my application for a license to carry a handgun discreetly. You can read the decision here:
Thanks to Free State Project founder Jason Sorens and several volunteers who came out including Varrin Swearingen, former FSP president for coming to Keene Public Library yesterday for a couple of hours to explain the FSP and field questions from members of the public. Here’s the full video from the event, including all the Q&A:
![1280px-Tor-logo-2011-flat.svg[1]](https://i0.wp.com/freekeene.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/1280px-Tor-logo-2011-flat.svg1_-300x181.png?resize=300%2C181){kind=logo}
NH Library Approves TOR!
Tonight, they decided to turn it back on! It’s a major victory for free speech and anonymity online and it’s also thanks to the dozens of people including Free State Project participants who came out to support TOR at tonight’s meeting.
UPDATE: The decision is being watched by other libraries around the country who will now be empowered to start their own TOR nodes, much to the chagrin of DHS and the federal government gang. According to Free Keene commenter Lee Sussman, Allison Macrina, the director of the Library Freedom Project mentioned tonight that there had already been several libraries that had stepped up and volunteered to join, and that all the recent press surrounding the situation at Kilton had prompted at least a dozen more to contact her!
Thanks, Kilton Library, for standing up for freedom of information!
What are you waiting for?
Whether the increased candidates result in a greater voter turnout, as the Sentinel speculates, remains to be seen. People in Keene, like pretty much everywhere, are notoriously apathetic and they sit back and allow the politically connected to come out and dominate the elections here.
Of course, who can blame them? Life is distracting. There are bills to pay and mouths to feed. Meanwhile the government gets bigger and bigger, and so do the taxes. It’s totally understandable why young working families are driven out of Keene. Why fight city hall when you can just leave?
For those watching from outside Keene: If you love liberty, how many libertarians are running in your municipal elections? In New Hampshire, libertarians are running all across the state – Keene, Manchester and elsewhere. When you move here as part of the Free State Project, you can help build momentum and success here like no where else.
Jazzy Girl on the Rainbow Bench!
This morning, Christopher Cornell of the United Church of Christ at the head of Central Square in Downtown Keene announced a really cool selfie contest in response to continued vandalization of their rainbow benches in Elsie Priest Park, just behind the UCC on Church St.
At least one unknown vandal in her sixties has been caught in the act of painting the rainbow bench in red. She ran to her red compact car and took off. The bench was subsequently painted rainbow by more volunteers, then attacked by the vandal(s) again, and so on. The church has plenty of paint and volunteers. Love will win over hate.
UCC administrator Mark C. Harris explained in a post to the church blog that the benches were painted rainbow this summer by volunteers and that they represent that, “We want everyone to feel welcome to use the park. This is in good keeping with our belief that all of God’s children are beloved, no matter who they are, or where they are on life’s journey. All are welcome, no matter their gender, age, race, ethnicity, economic status, sexual orientation, difference in abilities, religion or absence thereof.”
Renee Kate and Jazzy Showing Love > Hate
Today the benches are rainbow and people who side with love have been invited by the UCC to visit them and take a selfie, and post it on social media tagged with #onthebench. there are prizes, and the contest for the best selfie ends Saturday September 5th, at 10pm, which coincides with the end of the Keene Music Festival.
Speculation abounds as to the motivation of the vandal(s) – it’s easy to jump to a conclusion and say it’s someone with an anti-gay sentiment, but longtime readers of this blog will also recall the controversy back in 2009 when local entrepreneur Dorrie O’Meara launched her Mexican restaurant Pedraza’s. Some people around town were upset because O’Meara painted her building yellow! Certain grumpy people in this area seem to hate colors besides brick red and gray.
Take this, vandals!
Cornell said in an interview for Free Keene that he thinks the first time the the vandal(s) struck, the benches were fully painted red, but that since then the vandal(s) have only painted over the yellow part. He’s losing track of the amount of times the benches have been vandalized, but thinks it may have been at least six times, all since the beginning of August.
Smart move on the UCC’s part to make this into a hopefully-viral phenomenon. The vandals, whatever the hate they carry in their hearts, probably weren’t expecting these benches to turn into a movement!
The Shire Free Church is joining in solidarity with the UCC and all those who support love over hate, so I went out with Renee Kate and Jazzy the Studio Dog for a photo shoot this afternoon. Remember to tag your bench selfies with #onthebench on your social media posts.
Stay tuned to Free Keene for the latest on this controversy. Last year it was chalk causing controversy, this year it’s rainbows!
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