I’m hoping to write an more exhaustive ‘about’ me post but I’m rather busy, like everyone else, so it will have to wait. For now, here is a post I published at CopBlock.org. It’s fitting considering Free Keene activists did most of the leg work which resulted in me being freed from jail. Thanks again.
Three weeks ago yesterday Pete Eyre was assaulted, hand cuffed and dragged from a public building then put in a cage because he wore a hat inside ‘the’ courtroom. The following day, at Pete’s arraignment, I spoke out against Edward Burke’s (the judge) decision to keep him locked up. The judge ordered Pete to remain in jail because he refused to ID himself and shortly after sentenced me to 60 days in jail for my outburst.
So how did I get released early? Well, with so many great activists doing so many different things to free me, it’s impossible to say exactly what it was and a mix of everything is likely the answer. People were calling the jail, writing letters to Burke, protesting, making videos, filing motions, contacting media and much much more. A big thanks is in order for JJ, Andrew “280”, Aubern, Tayna, Carolyn, George, Smeg, Ian, my family and of course my boy – Pete. These guys are one kick ass team (not to undermine those who helped them – everyone did a great job and I’m so grateful to have support from so many) and I really value the support we show one another. (more…)
Libertarianism is a political philosophy based on the idea that no person or group of people has the right to aggress against the Life, Liberty, Property or Pursuit of Happiness of another, either by force or by fraud. Libertarians know and accept that aggression cannot be eliminated from the world, and our philosophy does allow for the use of force in defense of self or others. The question which, for us, settles the issue of who is right or wrong in and violent conflict is a very simple one, probably familiar to readers from childhood: “Who started it?” The person who ‘initiated force’ is the person who is wrong, every time.
Simplicity is one of the great strengths of Libertarianism. It allows a person to understand the legal consequences of his actions without consulting high priced lawyers or studying huge tomes filled with their ever changing statutes. This is probably the reason that there are so few Libertarian lawyers. Simplicity is the enemy of any privileged class.
Some people believe that they should, in some cases, be permitted to do violence against people who do things they don’t like, even though these people are harming only themselves. They argue that a person who takes drugs, for example, might possibly someday do some sort of harm to someone else, so he should be punished before he has the chance. Of course, this belief is absurd. Punishing someone because they might someday aggress would require, if applied consistently, the punishment of every person, since any human might someday commit an act of aggression. The law, however, should punish only criminals, not potential criminals.
Still other people believe that a sufficiently large majority should be permitted to do violence against a sufficiently small minority, in the democratic tradition. The belief that numerical “might makes right” is the ‘moral’ basis of democracy. The idea that the majority is always right can be easily dispelled with a simple thought experiment. Imagine a true democracy which consists of 9 men and 1 woman on an island. The men vote that the woman must have sex with all of them. According to the democratic ideal, this is perfectly acceptable, since the men outnumber the poor girl, and should she refuse their demands, then she is a criminal. This is why Benjamin Franklin described democracy as “Two wolves and a sheep voting on what to have for dinner,” and why America was founded as a Democratic Republic, not a democracy. Sadly, modern America is closer to the democratic than the republican ideal. (Note: Please do not confuse these words with the political parties similarly named. The connections are lost in the mists of time.)
Libertarianism is, in my humble opinion, the only truly moral political philosophy. Whether it is expressed through a minimal State–like that specified by our Constitution–or through anarchy–private arrangements in the absence of any State–it is the only political philosophy which can bring peace and harmony to our society. If you would like to learn more about this philosophy, please check out the short youtube video “The Philosophy of Liberty,” the Free State Project, the Libertarian Party, or meet some real live Libertarians and the 4:20 rally which occurs every afternoon on the Keene Common, or the Night Cap which occurs every night around 11:00pm in the same place. You may also write to me at the address below:
Rich “420 Guy” Paul
C/O Cheshire County Jail
Cell Block ‘D’
825 Marlboro Street
Keene, NH 03431
On March 3, 2010, Chris Micklovich was asked to leave a bar in Manchester because he had too much to drink. Once outside the bar, Chris was met by four off-duty police officers. The officers proceeded to cause 26 facial fractures to Chris’s face before arresting him, although they claim they did nothing wrong.
After an internal review, the officers were found to have “violated standard operating procedures,” although their actions were “were not criminal.”
If it takes four officers to beat a drunk guy half to death in order to take him into custody, the officers are either acting criminally, or they are so incompetent at their jobs that they should never be given a badge again.
Instead of going to jail, as anyone else who did this would, the officers are being suspended without pay for an undisclosed period of time.
What is particularly disturbing about this case is the fact that four officers participated in this. Michael Buckley, Jonathan Duchesne, Matt Jajuga and Lt. Ernie Goodno either participated in this act of aggression, or stood by and watched it happen. All but one of these officers, Goodno who recently retired, will be back on the beat in no time, “protecting us.” I know I feel safe.
A police officer blocks a man from carrying his wife into the emergency room because he ran red lights getting her to the hospital, the Downsizer Dispatch, undercover officer draws gun on a man for speeding ; the driver videotaped the interaction and now faces 16 years in prison for it, and Hampton NH talent show threatened by American Idol for using the word “Idol” in its name.
Police Courtesy Cards and preferential treatment, AZ voters and marijuana, convictions handed down in industrial accident that killed thousands of people over 25 years ago, and the world’s biggest hamburger record.
