The Manchester Free Press aims to bring together in one place everything you need to know about what’s happening in the free state.
Saturday • January 28 • 2012
Vol.IV • No.IV
Manchester, N.H.
Saturday • January 28 • 2012
Vol.IV • No.IV
Manchester, N.H.
Hello neighbor,
I know you’re busy but you will probably conclude that it’s worth your time to continue reading.
Many of us choose to call Keene home simply because it’s such an awesome community. That might not be as true in the near future if the Keene Police Department takes delivery of a Bearcat (an armored vehicle) thanks to grant from the federal Department of Homeland Security.
City councilors essentially said ‘why not take it, it’s free!’ Yet you, the taxpayer, are now on the hook for its maintenance and operational costs. I bet you can think of many things you’d rather spend your money on in lieu of being saddled with the upkeep for an armored vehicle.
Do you want to live in a police state? Do you really believe that Keene “needs” a Bearcat? Can you point to even one incident that has happened in town that warrants its acquisition? And why is the DHS, whose mission is aimed to “prevent terrorism” marketing the armored vehicle as a “rescue” vehicle?
Armored tanks have absolutely no proper place in a peaceful society such as we have here in Keene. The corrupt federal government would like for you to believe that your level of safety is somehow higher when the police have military equipment at their disposal, but the fact is that by far the most common use of such equipment remains to be the issuance of warrants against peaceful individuals; often accompanied by the destruction of their property, the death of their pets, and their own imprisonment, all without even the benefit of a fair trial beforehand. Additionally, such raids have resulted in needless deaths not only of the suspects involved, but of police officers, children, and innocent bystanders.
This is the future that the continued militarization of police promises for the city of Keene.
Many police departments in the country now have helicopters and drones in their arsenal of military equipment which is appropriate to nothing but war and death. Where does it end, and where do we as a peaceful group of people stand up and say NO to this tyranny?
Join us in saying “Thanks, but no tanks”
Show your support for a peaceful, not militarized, Keene police
Mike Clark, born 27 years ago in Keene, long-time No Job 2 Odd employee and drummer of Keene-based Aggressive by Nature, has spearheaded the charge to say: Thanks but no tanks, Keene!
He wrote and printed petitions imploring the Keene city council to reconsider their pro-tank decision and allow for public discussion on the matter. In just a few days Clark personally collected almost 150 signatures, which he brought to the city council meeting.
Per his conversations with city public officials, Clark expected that by presenting the petitions now, he’d secure a spot on the agenda of the following week’s finance committing meeting. Instead, Keene mayor Kendall W. Lane took the request as “information,” effectively shelving any public discussion. That was on January 12th.
On January 26th Clark’s own father – Terry Clark (the lone city council member that didn’t vote in favor of the Bearcat), put in a motion to reconsider. Apparently a request made by a city council member carried more weight with the council than did a request submitted by a concerned resident as it was agreed to have public discussion:
-on February 2nd, the issue will be raised at the 7pm city council meeting.
-on February 9th, public comment will occur at the 6:30pm finance committee meeting.
Make it clear that Keene should remain Bearcat-free!
Learn more:
Excerpts from an op-ed submitted to the Keene Sentinel by area resident Craig Dallas Rice:
Homeland Security says we better beware. So do the Keene police. So does the Keene City Council. But what do the citizens of Keene say? . . .
I do not believe that we really need this vehicle in Keene. The Monadnock Region is one of the safest areas in the world. As it stands now, the police and rescue personnel do what they do with adequate and modern equipment. They can continue to improve the way they handle situations in the future without military-style enhancement. Policing will still involve the legal use of violence in some situations but if they need a tank or an airstrike, I guess it is still better to call the National Guard.
If we the people still have any say, I hope we will be heard to say no to the BearCat.
Read the Keene Bearcat Grant Request or the synopsis by page below:
Keene Bearcat Grant
I wear buttons, I have bumper stickers & side magnets for my car. And I know most of the issues well. I am able to dis-spell myths about Ron Paul & offer truthful insights to people. Please wear your RP 2012 gear & get ready to talk to people! A guy came up to me at the grocery store today & shook my hand & praised Ron Paul. The cashier at that same store praised Dr. Paul & said she 'loved him'. Another lady at that same store the day before asked me if I had anymore Ron Paul buttons. I gave her my button & a yard sign. The cashier at chipotle commented on my RP button & said she hoped he got elected because "he is a genius". The cashier at starbucks asked me about Ron Paul. A man on a bicycle pulled up to my parked car & knocked on my window to talk about Ron Paul. This is all in the past few days. This has been happening for weeks now. The point is: wear your gear! Promote Ron Paul! I get more comments from my RP 2012 Button than anything else. I will where some sort of RP promotional gear, every where I go. Also, remember, if someone comes to you praising RP & they want him to win, get there information to remind them about the caucus &/or primaries & tell them the best way to get involved. Get them to sign up with you or send their contact info to the local RP offices nearby, or to visit official campaign website & sign up in their state. This is the whole idea: to galvanize support, rally & climax at the caucuses/primaries. Happy promoting!
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Thank you to Beau Davis of Keene for creating such a great video of the demonstration I participated in at the Manchester airport last Friday.
I plan to return to the Manch airport next Thursday, Feb. 2 to do it again….this time with another Keene activist who, just for fun, may choose to remain anonymous until our arrival at the airport, but of course that is up to him or her
Here is the text to the TSA outreach literature that I was handing out.
Thanks to Paul from California for releasing these videos of the roast of Stefan Molyneux from the Porcupine Freedom Festival 2011.
Besides the hilarity of the roast, you will also enjoy the antics of a VERY inebriated superactivist named Chris. Chris is an awesome doer and has successfully organized several NH Liberty Forum events for the Free State Project. He recently became a bit of a meme online, as “Ron Paul’s Freaking Giant“.
This is an educational video. Anyone who doesn’t think alcohol is one of the hardest, most dangerous drugs known to man should watch this video. Anyone who ever plans to drink in public should take this as a warning encouraging you to moderate your alcohol intake.
Know your limits. Chris could have hurt himself. I was worried he was going to fall off the stage in the last hour of this. Luckily he only broke a chair and made himself look foolish. Chris is not a fool. He’s a really bright and talented guy, but too much alcohol will do this to anyone.
Part 1:
Part 2:
http://youtu.be/UAFczG-Lz4M
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An energized Ron Paul hit back at former GE CEO Jack Welch tonight on CNN: “Maybe tonight he’s going to have to discuss it with his sons why he wants me to get out of the race!”
http://www.mediaite.com/t...
Full interview here: Ron Paul To CNN's John King: "I don't know how long you want to beat a dead horse!"
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http://youtu.be/DDTd4byn_fI
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According to Ron Paul official site, there will be two endorsements made in Maine tomorrow along the campaign trail.
http://tinyurl.com/RON-PAUL-2012-WOOT
So now it is time for the guessing game. I believe one of the people to endorse Paul will be Governor of Maine, Paul LePage. According to CNN Political Ticker, Paul made an unexpected stop to meet with the Governor. It also states that the Governor called Paul to meet up. Nothing discussed was released. Then just a little later Ron Paul's site had up the link above. He won the 2010 Maine Gubernatorial on a wave of Tea Party support.
http://tinyurl.com/CNN-POLITICAL-TICKER
So post in comments what you think. Is this plausible? Any ideas who the second one to endorse him will be?
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http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2012/01/27/paul-makes-u...
Lewiston, Maine (CNN) - Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul met with Maine Republican Gov. Paul LePage on Friday, a stop that was not announced as part of the congressman's public schedule.
"He called and asked to meet," Paul told CNN when asked how the meeting with LePage came about.
Paul campaign manager Jesse Benton said the meeting went well. It's unclear what the two men discussed.
Continue...
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Since it was posted the day following the New Hampshire primary, a video by a watchdog group showcasing exploits of election security has reached over 350,000 views. I remember seeing several friends sharing the video on Facebook, and although I didn’t find it stimulating enough to watch from start to finish (it needed more editing for my taste), I found it to be an interesting piece of investigative journalism bound to start some heated debate over election security.
The video is briefly prefaced with text stating, “If a person walked in to vote in the 2012 New Hampshire Primary, and said the names of multiple DEAD people…Could he receive a ballot to vote without showing any ID?” “© Project Veritas” is watermarked on the screen. If you watch for the entire ten minutes, you’ll see the same scene repeated multiple times. A man walks into a polling location wearing an inconspicuous camera on his person. He says, “Do you have a (name) on your list?” When asked to confirm the address and party registration, he says, “That is the address” and, “That is the registration”. Upon receiving a ballot, the man returns the ballot and insists on retrieving identification before casting a vote. The video ends with a less than climactic interview of poor audio quality with ward moderator Ryk Bullock.
There was much publicized discontent over a plan by some house republicans earlier last year to mandate voters provide photographic identification at the polls. Currently, potential voters are entitled to a ballot so long as they are willing to sign an affidavit affirming their residence within a particular ward. It is clear what the political motivation of the actors in the video are when they insist that poll workers check their IDs.
On this point, I don’t concur with the producers of the video, who sign off with, “Reporting for the Project Veritas, James O’Keefe and Spencer Meads”. While they made a noteworthy point about the ability to receive a ballot while impersonating the deceased, they did not prove that photo IDs are an imperative necessity for New Hampshire’s election process.
The first editorial published in the Concord Monitor critical of the actions of Project Veritas was penned by Zandra Rice Hawkins, the director of Granite State Progress. Zandra characterizes the actions of O’Keefe and Meads as breaking the law and obstructing the New Hampshire primary. To justify the claim that they had broken the law, she cites the voter fraud statute. In the statute, the act of impersonating another voter is criminalized, in addition to actually casting the fraudulent ballot. While the impersonation may be technically illegal, clearly the spirit of the law is to prevent illegitimate votes from being cast.
Another law alleged to have been broken by the duo is the infamous wiretapping statute. Many who haven’t dug deeply into the applications of the statute falsely believe the law to require consent to record an individual. Despite the word “consent” appearing in the RSA, all that is required in the statute is that someone be informed that they are being recorded. When out in public, there’s no expectation of privacy, and apart from the voting booth itself, the polling location is considered to be a particularly public space. The process is considered so open that campaigns are permitted to host poll watchers, whose job it is to monitor the checklist for who has voted as poll workers check names off. On primary day, I volunteered in this capacity for the presidential candidate I dislike the least. While poll watching, a cameraman, likely from WMUR, set up his equipment near the entrance and got several wide shots of the slow action. He did not survey those in the room for consent to be recorded, nor was this his responsibility.
Zandra does not elaborate on how Project Veritas disrupted the primary. Nobody was prevented from voting, and it is not as though one particular poll worker is singled out in the video or made to look irresponsible. She analogizes, “It’s like saying that a bank could be robbed, then filming yourself robbing it to prove your point.” At this point, one is not even comparing apples and oranges. Robbing a bank and not casting fraudulent ballots go together like honeydew melons and predator drones.
While I strongly disagree with Zandra’s suggestion that making criminals of O’Keefe and company is a good idea, I appreciate that while making such strong statements, she was open enough to attach her name. The following day’s Concord Monitor included a follow-up piece, written under the anonymous moniker of the Monitor Editorial Board. The piece which ran on January 20 corrected the mistaken claim that Project Veritas had violated the wiretapping statute, but it took no shame in endorsing a prison sentence and tens of thousands of dollars in fines for the participants in the video. I suggest the editorial board of the Monitor give a second reading to the New Hampshire constitution, which humbly suggests in article 18 that “No wise legislature will affix the same punishment to the crimes of theft, forgery, and the like, which they do to those of murder and treason.” Amateur journalism ought be affixed the same penalty that every other nonviolent, victimless crime ought have: absolutely nothing. Those who call for noncriminals to be imprisoned are mobs endorsing institutional violence. The anonymous author exposes that (s)he cares less for election security than (s)he does seeing political opponents purged. Opening and closing with similar lines, the piece ends with, “The best way to ensure the sanctity of the vote is to make the penalty for daring to obstruct, defraud or otherwise game the system so onerous that only a fool would risk it.”
This approach is as shortsighted as the assumption that executing people for lesser offenses (such as narcotics as in Singapore and Saudi Arabia) will result in people choosing not to commit those offenses. The failure of this assumption is demonstrated as people continue to be executed in those countries year after year. In openly acknowledging in the middle of the article that nobody knows how much voter fraud goes on in the state, the author underscores the fact that putting up a tough front does nothing to deter actual criminals who are free to continue their clandestine activities.
A cheap and easy solution that doesn’t require the mass of voters to carry ID and would greatly deter the type of potential fraud that Project Veritas exposed would be to list dates of birth alongside name, address, and party registration on the voter rolls. Throwing more people in prison and putting them under tremendous financial distress does nothing but increase the State’s threshold for violence.
This article originally published at freeconcord.org.
by Garret Ean
Jan 27 2012
Since it was posted the day following the New Hampshire primary, a video by a watchdog group showcasing exploits of election security has reached over 350,000 views. I remember seeing several friends sharing the video on Facebook, and although I didn’t find it stimulating enough to watch from start to finish (it needed more editing for my taste), I found it to be an interesting piece of investigative journalism bound to start some heated debate over election security.
The video is briefly prefaced with text stating, “If a person walked in to vote in the 2012 New Hampshire Primary, and said the names of multiple DEAD people…Could he receive a ballot to vote without showing any ID?” “© Project Veritas” is watermarked on the screen. If you watch for the entire ten minutes, you’ll see the same scene repeated multiple times. A man walks into a polling location wearing an inconspicuous camera on his person. He says, “Do you have a (name) on your list?” When asked to confirm the address and party registration, he says, “That is the address” and, “That is the registration”. Upon receiving a ballot, the man returns the ballot and insists on retrieving identification before casting a vote. The video ends with a less than climactic interview of poor audio quality with ward moderator Ryk Bullock.
There was much publicized discontent over a plan by some house republicans earlier last year to mandate voters provide photographic identification at the polls. Currently, potential voters are entitled to a ballot so long as they are willing to sign an affidavit affirming their residence within a particular ward. It is clear what the political motivation of the actors in the video are when they insist that poll workers check their IDs.
On this point, I don’t concur with the producers of the video, who sign off with, “Reporting for the Project Veritas, James O’Keefe and Spencer Meads”. While they made a noteworthy point about the ability to receive a ballot while impersonating the deceased, they did not prove that photo IDs are an imperative necessity for New Hampshire’s election process.
The first editorial published in the Concord Monitor critical of the actions of Project Veritas was penned by Zandra Rice Hawkins, the director of Granite State Progress. Zandra characterizes the actions of O’Keefe and Meads as breaking the law and obstructing the New Hampshire primary. To justify the claim that they had broken the law, she cites the voter fraud statute. In the statute, the act of impersonating another voter is criminalized, in addition to actually casting the fraudulent ballot. While the impersonation may be technically illegal, clearly the spirit of the law is to prevent illegitimate votes from being cast.
Another law alleged to have been broken by the duo is the infamous wiretapping statute. Many who haven’t dug deeply into the applications of the statute falsely believe the law to require consent to record an individual. Despite the word “consent” appearing in the RSA, all that is required in the statute is that someone be informed that they are being recorded. When out in public, there’s no expectation of privacy, and apart from the voting booth itself, the polling location is considered to be a particularly public space. The process is considered so open that campaigns are permitted to host poll watchers, whose job it is to monitor the checklist for who has voted as poll workers check names off. On primary day, I volunteered in this capacity for the presidential candidate I dislike the least. While poll watching, a cameraman, likely from WMUR, set up his equipment near the entrance and got several wide shots of the slow action. He did not survey those in the room for consent to be recorded, nor was this his responsibility.
Zandra does not elaborate on how Project Veritas disrupted the primary. Nobody was prevented from voting, and it is not as though one particular poll worker is singled out in the video or made to look irresponsible. She analogizes, “It’s like saying that a bank could be robbed, then filming yourself robbing it to prove your point.” At this point, one is not even comparing apples and oranges. Robbing a bank and not casting fraudulent ballots go together like honeydew melons and predator drones.
While I strongly disagree with Zandra’s suggestion that making criminals of O’Keefe and company is a good idea, I appreciate that while making such strong statements, she was open enough to attach her name. The following day’s Concord Monitor included a follow-up piece, written under the anonymous moniker of the Monitor Editorial Board. The piece which ran on January 20 corrected the mistaken claim that Project Veritas had violated the wiretapping statute, but it took no shame in endorsing a prison sentence and tens of thousands of dollars in fines for the participants in the video. I suggest the editorial board of the Monitor give a second reading to the New Hampshire constitution, which humbly suggests in article 18 that “No wise legislature will affix the same punishment to the crimes of theft, forgery, and the like, which they do to those of murder and treason.” Amateur journalism ought be affixed the same penalty that every other nonviolent, victimless crime ought have: absolutely nothing. Those who call for noncriminals to be imprisoned are mobs endorsing institutional violence. The anonymous author exposes that (s)he cares less for election security than (s)he does seeing political opponents purged. Opening and closing with similar lines, the piece ends with, “The best way to ensure the sanctity of the vote is to make the penalty for daring to obstruct, defraud or otherwise game the system so onerous that only a fool would risk it.”
This approach is as shortsighted as the assumption that executing people for lesser offenses (such as narcotics as in Singapore and Saudi Arabia) will result in people choosing not to commit those offenses. The failure of this assumption is demonstrated as people continue to be executed in those countries year after year. In openly acknowledging in the middle of the article that nobody knows how much voter fraud goes on in the state, the author underscores the fact that putting up a tough front does nothing to deter actual criminals who are free to continue their clandestine activities.
A cheap and easy solution that doesn’t require the mass of voters to carry ID and would greatly deter the type of potential fraud that Project Veritas exposed would be to list dates of birth alongside name, address, and party registration on the voter rolls. Throwing more people in prison and putting them under tremendous financial distress does nothing but increase the State’s threshold for violence.
Here is what the people in Florida will see:
http://youtu.be/vts0tqsFcJ0
YouTube.com/EndorseLiberty
MIAMI, Jan 27, 2012 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Endorse Liberty, a political action committee supporting Ron Paul for President, announced today that it has purchased multiple 30 minute prime time slots on Florida's WHDT TV, the largest independent broadcaster in Florida and America's first HD network, to air a special program in advance of the Florida Republican primary. The special features short films about the candidate, including "Blowback," which outlines Ron Paul's foreign and military policy for America.
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No mention of this in the Sentinel, but at last night’s city council meeting it was revealed that councilor Terry Clark has brought up the Bearcat for public hearing at an upcoming meeting. Terry Clark, as you may recall, is the lone councilor who heroically voted against accepting federal money to buy a Bearcat armored attack machine in the first place. According to John McLean, city boss, the city council can re-hear an issue once a year, and when a councilor brings an issue forward, there has to be a public hearing. Unlike when someone recently presented 144 petition signatures asking for a public hearing on the matter, which were gathered over one weekend, and the council blew it off as “informational”.
Here’s a facebook event for the next City Council meeting. Come with signs and show your support for a peaceful, not militarized, Keene police.
http://bangordailynews.com/2012/01/27/politics/ron-paul-kick...
Ron Paul kicks off two-day tour of Maine in Bangor
By Eric Russell, BDN Staff
Jan. 27, 2012
BANGOR, Maine — Declaring the “freedom movement alive and well,” Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul kicked off a two-day statewide tour in Bangor on Friday with the hope of convincing enough delegates to support him at Maine’s caucuses, which begin next weekend.
Paul, the 76-year-old Congressman from Texas, is the only current GOP candidate who has yet to win a state’s primary or caucus, but he has been racking up delegates in many states.
“We came to where the action is. We came to get delegates. That’s the name of the game. That’s how you win an election,” he told a crowd of about 300 people packed inside the Union Street Brick Church in downtown Bangor...
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Former cop-turned prosecutor-turned judge William H. Lyons said I owed “the state of New Hampshire” 248 FRNs. His claim is without merit. I did no harm to person or property. “The state” was not a victim that I was responsible to make whole. But I recognize that if I failed to act, I could be killed.
It wouldn’t happen right away, but if I ignored ever-more threatening letters sent by faceless strangers that I never wronged, their associates with guns would come for me. If I remained steadfast still, they’d use force, including lethal force. And most wouldn’t question their actions. After all, they wore badges. They’re “just doing their job.”
Looking over my shoulder doesn’t sound like a good way to live. So I’m forced to engage in damage control while remaining true to myself. Rather than pay the ransom, I decided I’d sit the time. Using “the state’s” math, 248 FRNs equated to four days and three nights at the Hillsborough County House of Corrections.
A week ago today I checked into my cage.
Read a concise and exhaustive write-up about my jail experience over at CopBlock.org.
I wanted to share a bit about my jail experience to personalize what stemmed from an incident last June when I and seven others were arrested when trying to hold aggressors responsible. The natural reaction of the aggressors and their friends has been to target those of us who point-out the double-standards (Ademo is threatened with 21yrs).
I stand by my actions on June 4th. I am confident that I did nothing wrong. In fact I was doing something good – I was trying to hold people responsible for their rights-violating actions. Most anyone familiar with the situation will say the same.
I hope to help draw attention to the injustice inherent in the current monopoly-provided institution and force people to question their own actions. When man-made legislation conflicts with natural law one should be true to their conscience.
From Mark Shepard’s essay “Gandhi and His Myths,” included in the Strength Through Peace compilation:
Gandhi pointed out three possible responses to oppression and injustice. One he described as the coward’s way: to accept the wrong or run away from it. The second option was tro stand and fight by force of arms, Gandhi said this was better than acceptance or running away. But the third way, he said, was best of all, and required the most courage: to stand and fight solely by nonviolent means.
Background:
Response to “Notice of fine” from Chalking 8 (Jan. 10th)
Pete’s Message from Valley St. Jail (Jan. 20th)
Is this the same place that regularly bans Ron Paul supporters?
The Jacksonville Brawl
"Then there was Ron Paul. Many of us quickly dismiss Ron Paul, but his performance was stellar. He offered extremely sound responses on healthcare, education, border security, and more. Very few of the questions were on foreign policy, which is where he tends to go off the reservation. Last night he came off as warm, funny, and right on the mark. It was his best debate performance. Santorum and Paul benefited from Romney and Gingrich’s constant bickering."
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GE CEO Jack Welch went on CNN to tell Ron Paul to drop out -- but then his wife makes fools of them when she reveals all 4 of their sons support Ron Paul! Haha! Wow!
http://www.mediaite.com/tv/former-ge-ceo-jack-welch-says-ron...
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Link from The Drudge Report.
"After a brief spike in interest, the mainstream media coverage of GOP candidate Ron Paul is back to nearly nothing, according to the Pew Research Center's Project for Excellence in Journalism. This week, less than 5 percent of all campaign stories focused on Paul, the lowest point since Dec. 11. when strong performances in Iowa and New Hampshire helped stoke some interest. Over the same period, Paul's performance in the polls has only improved, going from the single digits to 12.7 percent, putting him nearly even with Rick Santorum, in the current RealClearPolitics average."
http://www.theatlanticwire.com/politics/2012/01/ron-paul-med...
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Finally - the official schedule. It has been crazy trying to pull this together
in a few days! Please come if you are in Maine to at least of these events.
Ron Paul Leads the Charge in Maine with a Two Day Tour
Don't miss this opportunity to see the Champion of the Constitution and ardent defender of Liberty, Congressman Ron Paul!
Friday, January 27, 2012
10:00 AM - 11:00 AM: Bangor Town Hall, Brick Church, 126 Union, Bangor , ME
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Retired U.S. Army Colonel Douglas Macgregor explains why Rep. Ron Paul's plan would actually strengthen the U.S. military:
"As Ron Paul has pointed out, we do need to scale back our overseas footprint. Our presence in many parts of the world today is actually a catalyst for conflict. We're not cultivating peaceful conditions, in many cases we're doing the opposite..."
...
"Ron Paul is the only man who is in touch with reality"!"
http://youtu.be/lNedMn8_oag
Thanks for the video link, SeedPlanter)
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