Lets assume you’re the owner of a business and you employ five people. One day you find out that one of your employees is threatening people to make sales. You didn’t approve of this tactic and quickly move on this information. You call in the employee and address the situation. You explain to them that threatening people is not how you conduct business and even though it might produce larger sales in the short term, it will ultimately destroy the company – ending both your jobs. Hopefully the employee will understand and adapts (or atleast respects) to your request. Though it’s possible they wouldn’t (adapt) and you’d have to fire them. Either way, in business, when you don’t agree with your employee (or with your employer) you have the option to end the relationship (on either side).
Let’s go one step further and bring police into the scenario. Police are paid for with tax dollars and tax dollars are collected from taxpayers. Essentially, taxpayers are the employer’s of the police and, just like any other business, the employer has the right to tell the employee if (and/or when) they don’t approve of their employees actions. Right? Yet, there is NO real course of action one can take to stop police from doing something you don’t like or want, like regular employers can. You can’t physically stop the police officer, nor can you fire a police officer and you can’t stop paying taxes either – we all know what happens if you do. So, what can you do?
Here is the Youtube version of the third episode of Free Keene TV:
Most of the show is focused on an in-studio interview with Pete Eyre and Ademo Freeman about their recent court victory in Greenfield, MA. Also covered is the murder of a local teen and the stop lights at central square.
While buying tobacco last week at the Corner News (on main st in Keene) I had a pleasant conversation with the owner, Roberta Mastrogiovanni, about her store and the ‘free staters’ within Keene. I asked if she’d be interested in selling CopBlock.org and LibertyOnTour.com shirts? She stated she wasn’t interested in the ‘message’ but if it made business sense, she’d entertain the idea.
This morning I went down to the store to show Roberta the T-shirts and to provide a better background on each site. After a brief conversation she decided to give them a try. (*Please note that Corner News takes no position on the goal, missions or tactics used by CopBlock.org and/or LibertyOnTour.com, this is purely a business decision.*)
I’d like to thank Roberta and Corner News for displaying our swag and look forward to continuing our professional (not to mention voluntary) business arrangement.
If you’d like a CopBlock.org or LibertyOnTour.com shirt head down to Corner News, you can find their hours and more on their Facebook page. If you’re not in Keene but would like a shirt, please visit CopBlock.org or LibertyOnTour.com’s Support pages.
As an activist, I try to support as many other activists as possible. So when I heard about Bob Constantine trial in Grafton County I did all I could to attend (pulling an all nighter the night before the trial). I thought the day would be boring as most court proceedings are but that wasn’t the case this time.
Right away we were told about a double security check and a ban of cameras from the courtroom. It didn’t take long for the activists to start asking questions and pushing the limits of these tyrannical rules. As seen in the video below Ian Freeman, fellow blogger here, did his best to get electronics into the courtroom, yet, was threatened with arrest if he didn’t leave.
What do you think? Should cameras ever be banned from a public building? If I have to pay for it shouldn’t I be allowed to record the actions that take place in such a place? Should undercover officers be protected? Aren’t they public servants? Do real public servants need to hide their face? Is this the world you want your children growing up in?
