Much to this hater‘s dismay, most people really appreciate being saved from parking tickets by Robin Hood’s Merry Men. Here’s James Cleaveland on the streets of Keene and several people’s reactions to his Robin Hooding:
NH Journal opines regarding the Cynthia Chase controversy and the Free State Project:
Is the Free State Project an Existential Threat to New Hampshire? (more…)
Local radio fans will know Scott Antonivich from his many mornings as “Parker Springfield” rocking the Monadnock area on 101.9 K-Rock. Sadly, the parent company flipped formats to country, as reported here last year. Scott was offered a position in Lebanon with the company, but did not want to make the commute. Not long thereafter, his wife of six years allegedly decided to cheat on him and break up with him. He has a young son and so began his odyssey into the horrible family legal system of NH.
Here’s a recent post he made to his facebook profile that he gave permission to share with you regarding his thoughts about the Free State Project:
For those of you that follow or hear about Free Keene and the Free State Project and think that the members are into ‘shenanigans’ or worse you believe New Hampshire State Representative Cynthia Chase who believes that the principles of liberty, sound money, and free markets are a threat to NH and actually wishes to pass measures that will restrict the “freedoms” of those in the Free State Project I’d like to voice my opinion. Sure, there are times when perhaps they “get in the face” of people. Perhaps they goto extremes with their views: the counsel chambers drinking game comes to mind. Before you judge these folks….listen to the underlying message first. The rest is pure promotion so that you WILL LISTEN. Did I stop and look at the video of the topless TSA protester at the Manchester Airport? You bet your ass! After staring at her breasts…I realized she had a good point. I wouldn’t have given the video the time of day otherwise. Remember, sometimes you have to use sensationalism in order to be heard in today’s society. I’ve been experiencing FIRST HAND some of the issues they have been talking about for years. When a police officer tells you that he will not get involved when your name is FORGED on a check written to you….in order for it to be illegally cashed….you have to wonder what laws they use. It’s certainly not the law’s I’ve been told I had.
What Free Staters are and aren’tTuesday, January 15, 2013The two anonymous editorials that Foster’s has printed in the last week regarding the Free State Project reflect a lack of understanding that I’ve found only in the most closed minded individuals, left or right, here in New Hampshire.
In early 2001, Yale doctoral student Jason Sorens brainstormed about what might happen theoretically if libertarians got together in one place. In the ensuing 10 years, the reality far surpassed anything young Sorens could have imagined, and he’s said so many times. Quoting his original essay as gospel or blueprint misses the boat entirely, nobody but the most strident opposition are even reading it. Certainly the 13,500+ current signers to move aren’t, nor the 1,000+ who have moved over the last 8 years. Professor Sorens wrote a “10 years on” sequel essay refuting much of what he wrote back then. Theory: 20,000 activists. Reality: Far less are needed, and more effective than he imagined.
On January 14 at 9:40am a Petition for Redress of Grievances was filed against State Representative Cynthia Chase with the Clerk of the NH State House.
After the Clerk received the petition, she stated that she would have to re-read the rules to know how to proceed. My understanding of the rule is that ALL petitions for redress filed with the Clerk, must be read on the floor of the House before being filed. The next meeting of the State House is Wednesday the January 16; so I guess we shall see what happens next.
In the mean time, I will contact some of the State Rep’s who are friendly towards the cause of liberty to see if they will ensure the petition is read on the floor of the House.
Is your liberty movement getting the kind of press the Free State Project receives? Is it getting any press at all? Something to think about as you read this piece from Forbes Magazine:
Personal Branding Around Communities and Political Beliefs
I recently got a humorous pitch from a real estate agent in New Hampshire (more…)
The Union Leader has editorialized about the Free State Project and voluntaryists. They get it wrong about voluntarists, claiming that a voluntarist’s belief is that even the existence of prisons is a violation of our rights. That’s not at all the position of voluntarism. Voluntarism merely states that all human interaction should be voluntary. As a voluntarist, I have no problem with the idea of locking away truly dangerous people. I DO have a problem with locking up peaceful people.
Most of the rest of the editorial favors the Free State Project:
In 2001, some libertarians thought they could secure the maximum amount of personal liberty for themselves if they convinced like-minded people to move en masse to one state. They chose New Hampshire for the combination of its “Live free or die” ethos and its small size. Their goal was to have 20,000 people move here, a state with 1.3 million people, making them a whopping 1.5 percent of the population. In 11 years, about 1,000 have come. At this rate, they will reach their goal in 220 years.
And yet this movement is what some on New Hampshire’s far left consider an existential threat. (more…)
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