Carla Howell is the political director for the national libertarian party and a long time Massachusetts libertarian activist. If you’ve been in the libertarian party in the last three decades, you’re probably familiar with her. She was the keynote speaker at this year’s Libertarian Party of New Hampshire convention in Concord. Here’s her speech:
Sheriff Eli Rivera
Cheshire County Sheriff Eli Rivera has been making headlines this week for his compassionate stance against working with federal immigration enforcers. Rivera, a longtime fixture in the community and multi-term sheriff, announced via his website last week:
After taking some time to reflect on this current issue, as Sheriff, I’ve decided that the Cheshire County Sheriff’s Office will not seek to enter into an agreement with the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency (ICE) to enforce federal immigrations laws. Furthermore, we will not participate in raids, stings or operations that are solely intended at locating an undocumented person or persons. Any representative of ICE requesting our assistance must have an active criminal warrant issued by a judge or must be actively pursuing a criminal investigation that relates to public safety for us to participate.
It’s a welcome policy in a place where being brown or black makes one stick out like a sore thumb, given the population here in Cheshire County is about 96% white.
According to the Sentinel’s report on Rivera’s announcement Keene Police’s acting chief, Steve Russo has yet to comment on the issue, but his late predecessor Brian Costa‘s position was similar to Rivera’s, saying, “We have no interest going forward, nor do we have the resources for deputizing our officers as part of ICE to go out and seek illegal or undocumented immigrants…We govern ourselves by our mission statement”, which says KPD is “to protect life and property and to maintain order within the City while assuring fair and respectful treatment of everyone.”
Costa said of that mission statement in his interview with the Sentinel earlier this month, prior to his untimely passing, “It’s not just a group of words…It’s how we do business.”
KPD’s Late Chief Brian Costa
In addition, we will not ask a person their immigration status or detain a person based on an administrative civil detainer that is not issued by a judge. As Sheriff, I do not want undocumented immigrants to fear the Sheriff’s Office, instead I want them to be able to approach and speak to any of my deputies without the fear that they will be turned over to ICE. If in the course of our duties we happen to come across an undocumented person we will handle each encounter in a way we deem appropriate for each situation…
If you are an undocumented person in Cheshire County and feel uncertain about approaching law enforcement for fear they will turned you over to ICE, feel free to call me, Sheriff Eli Rivera, at the Cheshire County Sheriff’s Office.
According to the WMUR report on Rivera’s policy, some control-freak politicians are butthurt over this. Good. Unlike those cowardly politicians, kudos to Rivera for having the courage to do the right thing and truly protect the people of Cheshire county from the evil hands of the federal government. It would be better of course if Rivera would also stop cooperating with the feds on other victimless crime enforcement, like the insane War on Drugs, but this is a BIG step in the right direction.
I’m glad to live in a place where law enforcement acts more human, more often, than anywhere else I’ve ever been. You’ve got Rick Van Wickler, Cheshire County’s jail superintendent who is also a longtime speaker at Law Enforcement Action Partnership, a compassionate group of mostly former police which you may remember as being previously called, “Law Enforcement Against Prohibition” until they expanded their mission to include other issues where police reform is badly needed, Van Wickler has been a constant presence in Concord at state house hearings about drug legalization, speaking strongly in favor of any efforts to end prohibition in New Hampshire. He also runs his jail much more compassionately than the supermajority of the others in the United States. Add to that, a relatively calm and approachable group of Keene police, and now this excellent news from Sheriff Rivera.
Thank you, Eli. You’ve earned my vote in the next election. The land known as Cheshire county in the Shire should be a sanctuary for all peaceful people. Your immigration policy helps us get closer to that ideal. Next step, NH seceding from the United States! Viva New Hampshire!
FSP President Matt Philips Addresses the LPNH 2017 Convention
On the other hand, a different group of critics say that my recent article about the hypocrisy of the Free State Project board regarding their selection of John McAfee as the headliner for Porcfest is proof that I’m holding a grudge over being booted from their events.
Both groups are upset – the people who hate the FSP and the people who blindly carry water for the FSP. So, why would I give the FSP free publicity but also criticize them?
Uh, that’s what I’ve always done. For long before I (and my show) was kicked out of the FSP events I had held their feet to the fire on a multitude of occasions when I though their board made an ill-advised or hypocritical decision. The Snowden recording controversy from 2016 was the most recent one prior to my removal. There were other instances, but a review of the “Free State Project” category on this site reveals what the bulk of my posts have been – puff pieces for the FSP, for more than a decade.
Most of the time, the FSP is doing good work – encouraging liberty people to move to New Hampshire and get active. Every now and then their board will do something dumb and they’ve been called on it by me, other Free Keene bloggers, or a fellow Free Talk Live talk show host. I don’t take what they did to me personally and I don’t hold a grudge. I do allocate my airtime mostly to promoting the Shire Society rather than the FSP, as I believe it to be a superior migration movement since it’s decentralized and has no board, but on my radio show when we are discussing why people are moving to New Hampshire, I still mention the FSP as one of the active migrations here.
If I were holding a grudge, why did I interview FSP president Matt Philips at Anarchapulco about what the FSP has been up to since they reached their goal of 20,000 participants? Regardless of the haters, the FSP and the Shire Society are competing towards recruiting libertarians, voluntarists, and liberty-loving anarchists to uproot their lives and move to New Hampshire. I’m not letting some petty haters within the liberty community get in the way of that goal, which I still share with the FSP.
Further, practicing forgiveness doesn’t mean avoiding holding the forgiven accountable in the future. With only love in my heart, here’s the video of FSP president Matt Philips addressing the Libertarian Party of New Hampshire‘s 2017 convention in Concord:
Libertarian Party of New Hampshire secretary Jilletta Jarvis officially announced her run for governor in 2018 at last weekend’s LPNH convention in Concord! Here’s her first campaign speech as delivered to the convention where she discusses ending prohibition of cannabis, lowering taxes, ending DUI checkpoints, ending civil asset forfeiture, and supporting state rights. She promises, “As governor of New Hampshire, I would never sign a bill that took away freedoms from New Hampshire citizens.”
Last year, the Libertarian Party of NH achieved major party status for the first time in two decades, meaning our ballot access is finally equal to the big two parties. That means LP candidates can easily qualify for the ballot just by paying the same fee the other two parties do, rather than having to slave away and throw thousands of dollars at collecting petition signatures. The LPNH is already recruiting candidates for statewide races in 2018, so be sure to get involved!
Libertarian Robert Lombardo ran for the US Congress district one seat in 2016 and he may be gearing up for another run in 2018. Here’s his speech from last weekend’s Libertarian Party of New Hampshire convention in Concord:
Several weeks after his roadside arrest for possession and trafficking of cannabis in Warren County, Ohio, Cop Block founder Ademo Freeman is out of jail! He announced the exciting news on last night’s Free Talk Live (click to listen to his call) that his bail had been reduced from $75,000 to $5,000, he’s finally been indicted, and one of his felony charges for possession was dropped. He is now facing two felonies, but the early charge removal and recent plea deal offer suggest that the prosecution does not want to take this matter to trial.
Now that he’s out of jail on bond, he’ll be able to better prepare for his trial, unless they offer him an even better plea deal, which he has indicated he’d be willing to negotiate. Stay tuned here to Free Keene for the latest.
Virgil Vaduva and Ademo Freeman, After Ademo’s Release!
Also, this excellent article was written by Ademo while in jail. Sounds like he’s had a major paradigm shift to peace, as I once did. Right on, brother.
Recently, NH state representative Caleb Dyer made history by switching to the Libertarian Party, making him the only sitting state rep nationwide who is an LP member. So of course, he had to be a featured speaker at this year’s Libertarian Party of New Hampshire convention! Here’s the video of his speech:
(More convention videos to come this week on the Free Keene youtube.)
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