The region’s only Bitcoin Vending Machine (located at 101 Deals Thrift Store) still looks the same on the outside. It’s got the same, bright, quick, easy-to-use interface. Internally, though. a major upgrade has been made. The machine is no longer relying on blockchain.info for sending customers’ bitcoin and instead is using its own full bitcoin node. Though it nearly always worked previously, it’s now going to be rock-solid-reliable.
As of this writing, the Keene Bitcoin Vending Machine has served more than 30 BTC to various buyers in the last two months. Now, with the price of a full bitcoin rising to nearly $300 USD in recent weeks, there is renewed interest in the reliable, decentralized internet currency. You can learn more about bitcoin at WeUseCoins.com
You can try the Keene Bitcoin Vending Machine for as little as $1. Just get a bitcoin wallet for your smartphone like Airbitz and drop into 101 Deals Thrift Store at 661 Marlboro St. in Keene from Tue-Fri 11a-5p and Saturday 10a-6p.
Area 23’s Founders Kevin Bloom, Kirk McNeil, (and Chris Lopez and others)
Free State Project early movers Kirk McNeil and Kevin Bloom are busy guys. Among other lobbying efforts in Concord, they worked to legalize nanobreweries. Their efforts paid off and nanobreweries are now legal in New Hampshire! Bloom even drafted the original law for the state rep who submitted it.
Here’s Area 23’s website and facebook page. Area 23 is located in Concord at 254 N. State St. in the Smokestack Center’s Unit H. Congrats to Kirk and Kevin on their tremendous continuing efforts to move freedom forward in New Hampshire.
Christopher Cantwell to Keynote Keenevention 2015!
If you’ve been paying attention to the liberty movement, you probably know who Christopher Cantwell is and you probably have an opinion about him. This year, he’ll be one of Keenevention‘s three keynote speakers, which means he’ll be open to audience inquiry. Every speaker and panel at Keenevention features an open audience microphone for questions, and Chris’ speech will be no different.
Even if you don’t have a question for Chris, he’s an excellent speaker and might have things to say that may surprise you about his first year back in Keene.
Is your liberty movement getting major media coverage? The FSP does.
Every year the Porcupine Freedom Festival, a week-long gathering in Lancaster, NH garners media coverage from various places. Libertarians in other areas of the country virtually never get mainstream press, but in NH it happens all the time. That’s because the idea of concentrating our efforts is WORKING. If you love liberty, join the Free State Project today. Meanwhile, here’s another Porcfest 2015 Media Roundup:
Pumpkin Fest 2014: Dozens of Staties Attack Three Innocent, Teen Students
Ryan McLellan and his friends never hurt anyone or destroyed any property on the night of Pumpkin Fest 2014. However, that didn’t stop dozens of state police from swarming and attacking the three young men as they attempted to go to the Campus Convenience store on the corner of the block where their dorm was located. Earlier in the day and night there were riots in the neighborhood, but by the early morning hours when Ryan and his friends were attacked, there was nothing happening.
Well, I shouldn’t say nothing. Their neighborhood was being occupied by a very large group of armed men who were in a mood to order around and kidnap anyone they darn well wanted. Here’s the original video I released at the time, which shows the arrests and surrounding scene in full. Just minutes prior to their attack, but before the huge throng of state police had been brought in, I had been in the exact same place as the young men. Though the cops who were there at the time prohibited me from crossing into Winchester St., (for no apparent reason other than arbitrary control), they did not tackle and arrest me, like was done to Ryan and his friends.
Sadly, despite his being a clear case of police abuse and having an attorney willing to take the case to trial and beyond, Ryan took the plea deal, having a nonsense “resisting arrest” charge conditionally nolle-prossed in return for his guilty plea to “disorderly conduct”. These are two of the police’s favorite charges to throw at someone who they don’t like, but has otherwise done nothing wrong.
They were going to the convenience store. It was past midnight and they were hungry. When told to “GO HOME!”, they seemed confused – after all, they had committed no crimes, and further, there were other normal people walking down Winchester St, so why were they allowed to walk somewhere but not Ryan and friends?
When they didn’t turn immediately and high-tail it out of there, the thronging mass of state police officers pounced and violently took the young men to the pavement. A parent of one of Ryan’s friends said:
“My son has had 2 MRIs bad concussion lives with headaches everyday, dislocated his shoulder, sprained ankle and bruised the inside of his mouth from kneeling on his face.”
During sentencing, judge Edward J Burke fined him $1,000 suspended for two years on condition of good behavior, gave him 50 hours of community service, and lectured him as though he were somehow as bad as the people who had committed violence or property destruction, despite him never being accused of doing any such thing!
It was sad to watch. If you’re ever facing criminal charges, especially in the case of police abuse – please consider not taking the plea deal. Taking the plea only encourages more bad behavior from the police and “justice” system like this and ensures you’ll never be able to challenge what they did to you.
Finally, before you accuse me of being anti-police, remember it was my video I gave to Keene police that led to the capture and conviction of people who actually committed violent and property crime during the Pumpkin Fest riots. I am fine with the police going after real criminals, but not peaceful people like Ryan and his friends.
Free State Project early mover and attorney Brandon Ross is once again involved in a “wiretapping” case where Manchester police arrested a man for recording them in his own home. The man is now suing for more than $1 million in damages, as Photography is Not a Crime’s Andrew Quemere reports:
The city of Manchester, New Hampshire and two of its police officers are facing a lawsuit for more than a million dollars after arresting a man for audio-recording the officers as they searched his home.
Alfredo Valentin, 43, was arrested on March 3 after police conducted a no-knock raid on his home in search of drugs that belonged to a tenant and was later fired from his job because of the arrest, according to the lawsuit.
Valentin was never charged with any drugs crimes and, according to the lawsuit, was not aware that there were any drugs in his home.
Police were investigating Christopher Chapman, whom they suspected of selling heroin, and were able to arrest him outside of Hillsborough County Superior Court.
Despite already having the man in custody, the department sent a SWAT team to break into Valentin’s home, “firing incendiary devices through the property’s windows, kicking in the doors, and entering the property SWAT-style with semi-automatic weapons—damaging property, terrifying the two women who were still in the house, and creating an unjustifiable risk of accidental death or injury,” according to the lawsuit (see full article for pictures of the damage). (more…)
Brad Hildebrand, the morning show host at Hot Adult Contemporary station KSLQ 104.5, a Hot AC station just west of St. Louis, MO, had me on recently to discuss Robin Hooding! Here’s the audio:
