“Keenevention was definitely the place to be if you have any interest in discussing productive ways to protest, work around, or blatantly disregard the State.” -Blogger Richard Masta
Most of Saturday and Sunday from Keenevention 2014 are described in detail on Richard Masta’s excellent blog, “Dispatches from Keenevention 2014“. The investigative journalist raves about the event and includes in-depth reviews of multiple panels and speeches, various encounters and conversations, and lots of photos from the panels as well as the HALLOWKEENE costume dance party.
The first person I noticed in the lobby was also wearing a stand-out hat. This fellow was Hunter S. Thompson — he had the cigarette, the Hawaiian shirt, the glasses, you name it. Oh, this was going to be a fun weekend…
On Sunday November 24, 2014 I had the honor to join Amanda Bouldin’sShire Sharing in their delivery of food to families in need for this Thanksgiving. Shire Sharing delivered Thanksgiving meals to over 300 families in New Hampshire. Most deliveries were conducted by activists using their own vehicles to routes around the greater Manchester area. A bus and trailer were used to deliver food to concentrated areas such as apartment complexes. Around 10 am, activists who were mostly Free Staters piled into a bus and spent the next few hours delivering food. The playlist above is what I documented on Shire Sharing’s noble journey. I also posted photos of the charity in action which can be found on my instagram account.
Shire Sharing Foundress Amanda Bouldin and Chris Lopez help facilitate today’s deliveries.
Now in its fourth year, the charity created by Free State Project early mover Amanda Bouldin, Shire Sharing, has this year alone provided Thanksgiving dinner for over 330 families across New Hampshire!
Of those 330+ meals, the newly-formed Shire Sharing Keene presided over the delivery of nearly two dozen bags of food and turkeys across the Monadnock region. Outside of the Monadnock region, hundreds of families received the meals, in an amazing fourth-year effort. Though the main Shire Sharing organization made its fundraising goal of feeding 500 families, sadly one of the agencies from which family addresses were supplied apparently dropped the ball, leaving extra funds and supplies. Amanda says Shire Sharing will be distributing those extra supplies to Liberty House homeless shelter in Manchester.
Free Keene’s Darryl W. Perry released this video today which complied some scenes from the Keene-area bag assembly and the subsequent deliveries to happy recipients:
This piece by AP reporter Lynne Tuohy is being published all over and the headlines vary from misleading to acceptable.
For instance, the worst headline of them all is WCVB‘s, which says, “Keene’s parking meter ‘Robin Hooders’ must back off.” When the people calling themselves “the city” tell you you must do something, generally that means it must be done, or else violence will be used against you. In this case, that’s not at all what has happened. The city of Keene folks WANT Robin Hooders to “back off” and they’ve filed a lawsuit to try to force us to. “We want” is very different from “You must”.
The article itself is more honest, and reveals that in fact the city lost their case at superior court and is appealing to the NH supreme court. Obviously, the author of the article does not choose the headlines, that would be one of the editors of the paper. Thanks to Lynne and the AP for the coverage, despite the awful, seemingly default headline.
Here’s a sampling of headlines that various news outlets chose for this story:
Seacoast Online, Concord Monitor, KSN-TV in Wichita: “City: Quarter-toting ‘Robin Hooders’ must back off” (There were more than one of these. Perhaps AP suggested this particular headline.)
Keene and Manchester have long been hotspots for copblocking and especially so in 2014. Manchester has had regular DUI checkpoints that have been blocked by 30-40 activists throughout the Summer. Keene Cop Block has generated huge positive name recognition with their regular know-your-rights outreach & copblocking in the college neighborhood on weekend nights. Learn about what’s happening in the Shire from some of the key activists involved in Keenevention‘s first-ever Cop Block panel. Presented by Cop Block’s Eric Freerock. Panelists included Joël Valenzuela, Centurion, and Christopher Cantwell.
Today close to 50 people, mostly Free Staters, came together for the voluntaryist charity Shire Sharing. Shire Sharing was created by now NH State Representative Amanda Bouldin in dedication to her father. The goal of the charity this year is to feed up to 500 families in need this Thanksgiving in the Shire. Today was the assembly phase where activists put together bags of food for families. Tomorrow is the deliver day where all the bags created will be delivered to different families through out the Manchester area. I will be there to help deliver and to document deliveries. I have also been posting photos of the charity in action which can be found on my instagram account.
As documented here, controversial “Anarchist Atheist Asshole” Christopher Cantwell has moved out of the Keene Activist Center neighborhood. New-mover-to-Keene Nolan from New York and Keene Cop Block‘s Centurion are now in the house across from the KAC. Today, Centurion hung out a peace flag after cutting down the bushes in front of the house, officially terminating the Cantwell-inspired “Brutalist House” name.
![10520824_366176680224021_6701854290039367140_n[1]](https://i0.wp.com/freekeene.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/10520824_366176680224021_6701854290039367140_n1.jpg)
