The Rebel Love Show is joined by the lovely Tela to recap Keenevention 2015. To describe Keenevention in a nutshell is simply Sex, Drugs, and Anarchy. Suffice to say, it was a blast! Topics this week included puke worthy and inspirational panels at keenvention, the HallowKeene Dance Party, agorist charity Shire Sharing, sauna karma, and free uber activism. The Rebel Love Show airs every Tuesday night at 10 pm EST on LRN.FM and RebelLoveShow.com
Thanks to Richard Masta for posting this detailed summary of just about everything that happened at Keenevention 2015! Here’s a quick excerpt from his introduction:
I was prepared for a weekend of exciting adventure and invigorating learning, and I got it. Libertarians know how to get things done. And in the Shire, they know how to have fun.
Richard first attended Keenevention in 2014, and posted a similarly amazing write up about that event. Like last year’s post, his article this year delves into detail on each panel and speaker he witnessed, including questions from the audience and panelists’ quotes. It’s exhaustive, in a good way.
Christopher David Delivers his Keynote at Keenevention 2015
Continuing in Free Keene‘s tradition of giving some of New Hampshire’s best, visible activists a platform for their opinions, news, and media, I’m proud to announce our newest blogger from the Seacoast, Christopher David!
Chris has made headlines for his “Free UBER” project and delivered an excellent keynote brainstorming session at this year’s Keenevention. His energy and drive are exemplary and I hope we get lots more activists like him moving here as part of the Free State Project. Here’s his bio from our Bloggers page:
Chris is a web developer and early mover (as of 2009) for the Free State Project now living on the seacoast. He is the ‘illegal Uber driver’, arrested by Portsmouth police on felony wiretapping charges for a YouTube video showcasing effective activism. He is dedicated to ending wars and abolishing the State in our lifetime. Chris is also the founder of “Free UBER“, an activist network dedicated to defending ride-sharing worldwide.
Brooks gets his reporting mostly correct, though I don’t share his view that bitcoin is doing poorly. It’s arguably the strongest currency in the world at over $335 USD per BTC as of this writing, with a myriad of businesses accepting it online and as Brooks notes, a bunch of NH businesses. By no means has it skyrocketed in popularity among average folks, but we’re talking about a major change in money here – there’s a learning curve involved at this point. It’s important to keep things in perspective: Bitcoin was released to the world in 2009. It’s been six years – a drop in the bucket of time. Bitcoin is just getting started.
Bitcoin is also easier to use than ever before. In the beginning, it was only geeks who could access bitcoin. As it spread and investors and more entrepreneurs got involved, easy-to-use wallet software became available. Now, all you need to do to get started with Bitcoin is download a free wallet and drop by the Keene Bitcoin Vending Machine at 661 Marlboro Street in Keene (Route 101), or acquire bitcoin in various other ways. Visit Bitcoin.com to learn more.
Here’s an ugly, state-worshiping editorial from the Portsmouth Herald that tries to position the area taxi companies as the little, local guys vs the big, evil national corporation. The reality is that UBER is merely a platform that individual drivers, who operate as independent contractors, can use to find people who need rides. These drivers live in the Portsmouth area, and as independent, individual businesses, are even smaller businesses than the local taxi companies. But that’s not all the derisive, snooty editorial imparts:
Incorrectly labeling “Free UBER” as “Free State Uber” – they take a dismissive tone of the demonstrations that have occurred at a local bar and last night at the city council meeting and then go on to insult the Seacoast activists in the same way the Keene Sentinel and other critics have insulted Keene activists, calling the activism a “Free State sideshow”. “You can’t make this stuff up”, the unsigned editorial whines regarding the activism surrounding the UBER controversy.
There have, within the libertarian movement, been many critics of various Keene activism over the years. We’ve been accused on more than several occasions, of having destroyed the liberty movement, not just in New Hampshire, but nationwide. The general idea is that because some people in Keene don’t like certain activism, that we have failed, and we should not be so offensive to people. Usually, the critics attack “Keene” generally, and use it as a pejorative and a scapegoat. Sometimes, you can get them to be specific about exactly *who* did something offensive to them, and what it was. If you ask a few critics for specifics, you’ll find that some critics liked the very activism that other critics found offensive. As is typically the case, you can’t please everyone (and shouldn’t try).
All the while, those of us who spend time actually doing activism (rather than attacking others’ activism), have been patiently trying to explain the truth, which is now being borne out again in Portsmouth: that activism that receives publicity is bound to upset people. It’s the nature of the thing.
This is what happens to those who challenge the status quo – and this is all only coming from one minor proposed change to the city’s transportation ordinances! The lesson should be clear now that the SAME reactions are happening outside of Keene:
The more success you have as an activist, the more publicity you will receive, and therefore the more hatred and derision will be directed your way. (more…)
With the protest at the council meeting last night in Portsmouth and the second ticket issued to the Grandma UBER driver, mainstream media continues to report on the situation. Here’s a recent rundown: