Before the Deliberative Session, Conan Salada collected signatures on 7 warrant articles to be placed on the official ballot before voters in the upcoming Keene School District election.
During the Deliberative Session, all 7 warrant articles were amended in a manner that eliminated the subject. These amendments were challenged as out of order, however the moderator over-ruled those motions, and the majority of voters in attendance agreed with the moderator. The Keene Sentinel described these changes as “Machiavellian legal maneuvering… to avoid letting voters decide the merits of the articles“.
After the Deliberative Session, Darryl W. Perry, was directed to the 2011 Rockingham Superior Court decision in the case of Bailey v. Town of Exeter. In Bailey, the Court ruled, “the Court finds and rules the only way the phrase ‘no warrant article shall be amended to eliminate the subject matter of the article’ can logically be read is to conclude that any amendment that made the subject matter of the article a nullity was forbidden,” adding that “[m]erely because the majority of the voters were more clever in the way the amendment was worded to create the nullity does not mean their action was not a violation of the statute.”
Perry, Salada and two other voters (David Crawford and Eric LaRoche) have filed suit against the School District due to the illegal actions at the Deliberative Session that have disenfranchised the voters of Keene, including petitioners.
The filing can be read here. A court date has been set for Friday, February 28 at 11am.
In the aftermath of a shocking video released February 8 portraying a tow truck driver threatening a Robin Hooder, videojournalist Dave Ridley has begun producing a series of videos covering the encounter and the responses that it has generated. Some detractors of Robin Hood and the Merry People shamelessly took to the internet to express solidarity with the rage-filled tow operator and expressed joy at the threats of violence aimed at videographer Graham Colson. Graham has since posted a blog trying to refocus the issue on opposing the use of threats and harassment. Unrelated tow companies in other states who share the same name as the employer of the driver in the original video have reportedly been receiving improperly directed complaints.
Anger against Free Keene grows to physically dangerous levels, but some opponents worth hearing, released 13 Feb 2014:
Over the last week or so, the video involving Emerson Lyons Jr.’s unjustified threats towards me has made it’s way around the internet, to say the very least. While my intentions here were to make this individual’s aggressive actions public, I didn’t want much of what of I hear has been happening to happen. I was informed last night that him and his family have been threatened with violence several times in the last few days. I also read a comment somewhere where someone says that they’ve called Emerson’s Towing & Repair five times in the last hour and called the person who answered the phone vulgar names.
This is not an appropriate way to go about this. I’ve been accused of harassment by the City Of Keene (and their bogus lawsuit was inevitably dropped, http://www.sentinelsource.com/news/local/judge-cites-first-amendment-in-dismissing-keene-case-against-robin/article_40e36444-6dcb-5cc6-b6e2-a0bfa3e96930.html, as folks associated with Robin Hood Of Keene haven’t and don’t harass Parking Enforcement Officers) for filling parking meters and occasionally filming public officials in their line of duty. I’ve been harassed and aggressed against myself, by thugs on the streets and government employees, and it’s not something I’d wish on anyone. The way Emerson acted was inexcusable, but to respond to that by stooping to the same level is just as wrong. I’m genuinely sorry to anyone employed at Emerson’s Towing & Repair that has been affected by this negatively, though I’m not sorry for initially publicizing the incident. Had he asked me to stop filming in a respectful manner, I would have stopped filming. I’m not generally much of a filmer, and didn’t have much of a reason to be filming the vehicle being towed (and I don’t need one to film in public, especially when the folks being filmed are contracted through the City Of Keene). However, the second he stepped out of his truck he told me he’d knock my teeth out, and once something like that is said my camera is going to continue to record until the person making those threats has either calmed down or left the situation. He likely knows that the things that Robin Hooders film tend to end up on the internet, and therefore should have acted in a socially acceptable manner knowing how many people could see the video.
Regardless of all of this, I seek only to live in a free and peaceful society, where the use of violence to resolve ones grievances is used only as an absolute last resort. To those who hold issues with me over this incident, I ask that you at the very least come to the realization that violence or the threat of it is not an acceptable way to handle these issues. Talk to me about it. I think that you’d find that I’m actually a relatively okay person, and that finding a peaceful solution rather than a bloody one is the ideal route to go.
This wonderful commemorative Dear Leader’s Day edition of AKPF #1 delves into a number of ancient conspiracy theories and their modern connection, including through Peace Tea. While broadcasting on schedule on Cheshire TV, the episode was compromised on YouTube for copyrotten reasons. Fortunately, LiveLeak stepped in a saved the day, and prior an outlet for human beings around the world to consume AKPF #1, despite state censorship attempts. See the first ever LiveLeak distributed AKPF #1 episode Conspiracies Abound below.
Thursday’s Keene Sentinel featured an update on the Robin Hood saga penned by Kyle Jarvis. The article overviews how the case is being prepped for presentation to the New Hampshire supreme court, where before being scheduled requires both parties to consider the possibility of mandatory mediation. The mediation process would involve a closed-door meeting between both parties to agree on a legal compromise. Mediation is certainly a fitting alternative to the courts for conflict resolution when a conflict exists, but as is uniquely the case in Keene, city officials can’t cite a single grievance against the Robin Hooders collectively beyond expressing a desire that they do not be in the proximity of or communicate with parking enforcers. For some individual Robin Hooders, no specific issues have been raised at all, and considering that Pete Eyre is still named in the suit when he has at no time been associated with Robin Hood of Keene demonstrates the indiscriminate nature of the city’s straw-grasping lawsuit. Early in the suit, the city requested the ability to add defendants to the case at will, but apparently ceased its hunt for the underground Robin Hooders after at least two individuals officially requested attachment to the suit and were denied, despite one presenting evidence of longtime participation in the activity.
While the ruling from judge John Kissinger was reasonable, a further contemplation of the case may have demonstrated the need for a less traditional ruling, which may have alleviated some of the issues that the legal department of “city of Keene” continues to press today. Though the judge never authorized “harassment and intimidation”, the ruling states only that the facts presented did not constitute any actionable activity. Yet the city’s attorney asserted this about the ruling: “The Order holds that the individual protesters have no duty to be reasonable in their actions and conduct directed toward public employees while doing their jobs … that the individual protesters are allowed to interfere, harass, and intimidate public employees while doing their jobs … (and) that the individual protesters may engage in inappropriate and unreasonable actions and conduct directed at public employees while doing their jobs.” Not only is it unkind to mischaracterize constitutionally protected speech as “harassment and intimidation,” but it is also a distortion of the actual text of the ruling. Perhaps mediation would have been most pertinent prior to the many hours spent in court, where it could have been cleared up ahead of time that Robin Hooders do not engage in harassment and intimidation. Of course, when myself I tried mediate with the city’s attorney prior to court, my camera was stolen for two months under the guise of “illegal wiretapping”. (more…)
Early last week I left a message for the owner of Emerson’s Towing, Emerson Sr., asking for an official statement on the incident. As of yet, I have not heard from him. It appears Emerson’s has again taken down their facebook page again, however their Yelp entry isn’t looking so hot in the reviews department as people comment nationwide. Will Emerson’s continue to avoid commenting on this situation?
