Christopher David of Free UBER – Graphic Courtesy Coin Telegraph
Free UBER‘s Christopher David is making headlines again for his latest announcement where he and several other drivers are offering free rides to people on New Year’s Eve in Portsmouth, NH. The drivers are accepting tips, and Portsmouth police chief Frank Warchol said in an interview with the Portsmouth Herald that accepting donations would still place them under government control and means they’d be fined if caught operating without government permission slips.
Chris’ announcement has really put the government gang in a ridiculous spot that shows their true nature. Prior to this, the controversy with UBER in Portsmouth has been that UBER’s background check requirements aren’t as stringent as Portsmouth’s ordinances demand. There’s been endless debate and discussion in city council meetings about who should be allowed to drive other consenting adults from place to place, with the town government agents acting concerned about “protecting” the passengers from potentially criminal drivers. However, no one in the Portsmouth government would care if a felon takes someone from point A to point B for free, but if they accept a dollar for their effort, then the regulations apply! What’s this scheme of theirs really about? Perhaps money, control, and protecting the old cab companies from competition?
Frank Warchol, Chief of Portsmouth Police – Photo Courtesy SeacoastOnline
The Portsmouth gang is threatening the charity drivers with fines of $500 to $1,000 if they are caught accepting money for rides. How police will catch them is another question entirely. With UBER, police could use the UBER app to monitor the locations of the UBER cars (whether they have, I don’t know). However, UBER is not involved at all with the New Year’s Eve charity, so police would have to run a sting operation by scheduling a ride, then pouncing on the driver when he or she accepts a tip from the undercover cop.
Chris says that his reading of the Portsmouth gang’s “ordinances” and the state gang’s “statutes” lead him to believe there are virtually no restrictions on limousines. The Portsmouth transportation ordinance defines limousine services as those which, “provide designated luxury or specialty vehicles by prior appointment for discrete functions or transportation to locations outside the City or the reverse”. Chris says the vehicles on New Years Eve will be specialty because they will have fun games in the passenger seats.
Will anything go down on New Year’s Eve between city cops and the charity drivers? Stay tuned here to Free Keene for the latest, and if you’re looking for a ride on New Year’s Eve in Portsmouth, sign up for yours here at Chris’ new project, Arcade City!
Hoping to overturn the illegal, discriminatory town ordinance, Lilley and MacKinnon teamed up with Free State Project early mover and attorney Dan Hynes.
Hynes’ line of questioning was interesting, specifically asking the state’s witnesses, which included three snitches and a few cops, how they determine someone is a woman. The all answered something about breasts, which is inconclusive. Without inspecting genitalia, which the police did not do, there would be reasonable doubt that the person is female.
Hynes argued, in a ten-page motion to dismiss (complimented by jovial Judge James M. Carroll) the ordinance is unconstitutional and violates equal protection and the right to free expression. Further, he argues the ordinance is also illegal because New Hampshire is not a “home rule” state and unless the state legislature authorizes towns to pass laws of their own, they cannot legally do so.
Regional physical media chain Bull Moose recently opened its doors in the old Video Headquarters location in the Hannaford plaza on West Street in Keene. They carry a wide variety of media including video games, cds, vinyl, DVD, Bluray, and even books! It’s refreshing to see someone trying to keep physical media distribution alive – hopefully it works out for them. Kudos also to Bull Moose for carrying Keene-produced-and-edited documentary Derrick J’s Victimless Crime Spree on DVD!
DJVCS DVDs on-the-shelf at Bull Moose, Keene!
Of course, you can watch the feature-length documentary produced by Free State Project participants for free in its entirety online, but that doesn’t do you any good if you’re looking for a gift for this holiday season. Victimless Crime Spree makes a great stocking stuffer, and Bull Moose in Keene is selling it for LESS than Amazon! Amazon has it listed for $7.93 while Bull Moose has it on-the-shelf, brand new, for just $6.97! There’s no cheaper place to purchase the Director’s Cut DVD, which is loaded with hours of bonus footage and even features TWO commentary tracks!
Bull Moose has three copies in stock as of yesterday, so if you’re looking for a perfect last-minute gift, stop in to 401B West St. in the Hannaford plaza. They’re open until midnight tonight and 7pm on Christmas Eve.
If you don’t live in the Keene area, just grab your copy at Amazon where it qualifies for Amazon Prime and Free Super-Saver Shipping!
The last time we heard about how many taxpayer dollars the city of Keene has spent on their frivolous lawsuit to try to crush the rights of Keene’s Robin Hooders, it was December of 2013, the year they filed the suits against us.
Keene’s Robin Hooders were feeding expired parking meters in relative obscurity until the city filed its suit in May of 2013. That suit blew up into a huge storm of publicity, making Keene’s government the laughingstock of the world.
Attorney Charles Bauer is getting very rich from taxpayer dollars.
Determined not to show any good sense, the city gang continued to lavish tens of thousands of taxpayer dollars on failure after failure in this case. They hired the go-to law firm for all NH municipalities, “Gallagher, Callahan, and Gartrell” (the same firm that lost the Gericke case, which upheld the right to record police). Hey, it’s not like it’s the city’s money – they stole it from Keene’s productive class – the people.
Now the case is going back to the NH supreme court on appeal, but mayor Lane claims the law firm is going to cut them a break on this appeal and do it pro-bono. How generous of Bauer’s firm! (Robin Hood attorney Jon Meyer has been pro-bono from day one.)
