A month ago I started my website totalanarchy.info. Unlike Free Keene, this site will not be limited to issues and events pertaining to New Hampshire. We will discuss current events, common philosophical questions, and film shows hopefully once a week. The goal is to spread the message by taking the NAP to its logical conclusions.
Anypay founder Steven Zeiler (left) talks with Darryl W Perry at the grand opening of Portsmouth’s Free State Bitcoin Shoppe in September
Now stop imagining, because this is real and it’s really happening in downtown Keene and the Monadnock region (and now all of New Hampshire).
A local group of cryptocurrency users has launched a new blog at MonadnockCrypto.com whose first post explains how this works and where the extra DASH comes from.
I’ve tested DASH-Back in and around Keene and it’s working at what I would call ridiculous levels. It’s not hard to get 20% or more back on a purchase at merchants like Corner News, Local Burger, Hot Hogs BBQ, Little Zoe’s Pizza, Curry Indian Restaurant, Thirsty Owl, Lineage Vapors, and Route 101 Local Goods. (Plus in Alstead there’s Kirby’s Q and Hillsboro’s Taco Beyondo.) Even service providers like Wilder Automotive and Dr. Drower Dentistry are accepting DASH via Anypay’s system, which means DASH-Back is active at all those local businesses! Here’s a handy map of area businesses that accept DASH as well as area DASH Vending Machines.
Thanks to Anypay for the awesome incentive to spend cryptocurrency at local merchants across New Hampshire.
National Education Association – New Hampshire
Additionally, I’ll be posting those filled-out questionnaires online for everyone to see. Starting with the first one I’ve received and just mailed back today, to the National Education Association of New Hampshire (NEA-NH). Click for PDF.
I’ll also use these posts as an opportunity to state my position in much-easier-to-read text on the various issues raised by the interest groups. So, here’s a summary of what I said to them regarding education:
The problems with public education today aren’t the people running the system. They are good people who genuinely want to help educate the youth and are doing their best under the circumstances. The problem with the system is that it is “public”, meaning government-run and funded through coercive taxation.
Government schools, whether they be standard or charter are never going to rise to the level of quality they could reach if they were self-owning competitors in a free market in education. Instead, because of the one-system-fits-all structure of the government schools, everyone is brought down to the lowest common denominator and there are constant public fights between interest groups and political parties over how the money is to be spent. The NEA questionnaire brings up multiple issues that people are frequently warring over including pensions, charter schools, and vouchers. None of these things would be an issue in a free market in education. People could just choose to support the school models they like. No need for fighting with your neighbors.
The school people are good, but the system sucks.
Well, why not? Just because government schools have existed in our lifetimes and have been funded through taxes doesn’t mean it always has to be that way. Change your beliefs, and you’ll change reality.
How do we get from here – where education is provided by the slow, expensive monopoly on violence known as the State of New Hampshire – to the free market in education where a thousand ideas can bloom without any coercion?
In order to create as much of a win-win transition to the market as possible, I propose each government school be turned into a self-owning, market-based school with shares of ownership distributed to all current and retired school staff. This would set the schools free to determine their own future. They figure out funding, retirement, rules, curriculum, etc. If they fail, they can sell off their assets, like anyone else who fails in the market. If they succeed, they’ll do that by satisfying their customers. Anyone who doesn’t like their educational model would just choose to send their child elsewhere. (more…)
There are reports that the city of Dover, NH have passed a law that threatens anyone under 21 who possesses tobacco products. There are approximately 433 people in Dover who are under 21 and not already victimized by regular laws that oppress adults under the age of 18. The ordinance takes effect on July 4th. (more…)
As many readers of FreeKeene.com are aware, Ademo Freeman’s physical body is now caged. His crime? Well, there is none, as ‘crime’ implies a violation of the law. Ademo did not do that — he did not cause harm to another person. He is, however, guilty of violating legalese — the arbitrary, convoluted dictates penned by some busy bodies and enforced by an unthinking chain of their colleagues.
As Ian Freeman wrote here on FreeKeene.com over 16 months ago:
Cop Block founder and Free Keene blogger Ademo Freeman has been arrested while driving in Lebanon, Ohio by Ohio State Police. Despite Ademo not consenting to a search, trooper Jeffrey Martin claimed that because he allegedly smelled the odor of cannabis, that he had probable cause to search.
After that road pirate interaction, in which over 20 pounds of cannabis were discovered in the vehicle Ademo was driving, he was threatened with the prospect of spending decades caged. After weighing his options, on April 10th of this year, Ademo took a plea deal. The ‘distribution’ charge hanging over his head was tossed and he pled guilty to possessing cannabis. He’s due to be free(r) on November 27th of this year.
Darryl W Perry interviews Porcfest head organizer Rodger Paxton in the LRN.FM Tent at Forkfest 2018
The attendees were much more geographically diverse with attendees from across the United States and even from as far away as Lithuania!
Of course, since Forkfest is decentralized and has no organizers or tickets, we really have only estimates of attendance based on observing the state of the campground. That said, it was clearly up maybe three times more than last year, and that’s if you don’t factor in the 150 wedding attendees.
The weather was excellent until the very last day when we were hit with a pounding storm during Free Talk Live‘s recording. Like last year, we broadcast from the event every day from one of the RV sites. Initially it was the opening night hangout for the hardcore campers who showed up for the always-least-populated first day of Thursday.
Rich Paul leads the traditional 4:20 celebration at Forkfest 2018.
On Saturday, we gathered at the LRN.FM broadcast tent for 4:20 with Rich Paul performing his invocation over the PA system. Much cannabis was smoked and a good time had by all.
Sunday was Jay and Shalon Noone’s beautiful wedding and reception, attended by a good portion of the entire park. You can see photos from the wedding as well as the LRN.FM tent broadcasts on my Google Photos album here.
Monday included the parties I mentioned above and many vendors arriving for the Porcupine Freedom Festival which is the long-running, centrally-organized, ticketed libertarian festival that begins at the end of Forkfest.
Speaking of vendors, with the exception of a couple of heroic breakfast vendors, food vending was largely a missed opportunity. Many Forkfest attendees had to acquire their own food throughout a good portion of the festival. Luckily, the restaurant at the just-down-the-street Cabot Inn, “The Olde Bostonian Tavern & Grill” had recently started taking cryptocurrency like Bitcoin (BTC) and DASH! Some of us ate there on multiple evenings!
Shalon and Jay Noone, shortly after getting married – the first ever at Forkfest.
As with last year, this year’s festival had different names, depending on whom you asked. Whether Forkfest, Somaliafest, or Banned Camp, it’s intended to be the five days prior to the start of the Porcupine Freedom Festival. Forkfest is five full days of no rules (beyond what Rogers Campground already has, and they are pretty hands-off) and just good liberty-oriented company at a beautiful site located in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. Each attendee decides what to do, bring, or create for others.
Pencil in Forkfest on your calendar for 2019 from June 13th until the 18th. Those are tentative dates, based on what Porcfest organizer Rodger Paxton said about Porcfest 2019’s likely dates of 6/18-23. For the latest info and to plan for next year with other attendees, please join the unofficial Forkfest forum and Telegram chat, which you can find via the unofficial website at Forkfest.party. You can also RSVP via the Forkfest 2019 entry on Liberty.menu. Given we only promoted this year’s event for three months prior and we’ll be promoting 2019 for a full year, it should be even bigger next year! See you in 2019!
Border Patrol Agent Salutes Camera at NH Internal Oppressive Checkpoint
As it turns out, a car full of people with video cameras wasn’t welcome in their secondary screening area. After one agent orders me to pull into their secondary screening for refusing to answer questions, his commanding officer intervenes before I can even cross over a single lane of traffic, and even apologizes for not wasting more of our time with their invasive screening! In hindsight, I should have told him to apologize to all the cars without camera-toting occupants for wasting everyone’s time with their oppressive police state checkpoint. Here’s the ridiculous video:
No one in the car was planning to answer the agents’ questions, given one has a right to remain silent (that the US Supreme Court has now required be invoked in police encounters). Obedience to tyrants only encourages them. Besides, as someone who believes in liberty, I don’t believe in government borders. Peaceful people should be allowed to enter a free country. Of course, we all know by now the United States is not a free country, and in fact has been dropping on the various international freedom rankings.
Also this weekend, NH Libertarian Party candidate for US Congress NH-2, Justin O’Donnell also traversed the checkpoint while live streaming to facebook. His friend in the passenger seat obediently answered the agent’s inquiry while O’Donnell debated with the agents, ultimately admitting to having been born in Boston, MA. Prior to this, the agent threatened to detain O’Donnell until he answered the question. (more…)
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