Antigovernment activists putting down roots in N.H. (FSP)

[disorderlyvision]

http://www.boston.com/news/local/new_hampshire/articles/2009/05/29/antigovernment_activists__putting_down_roots_in_nh/


KEENE, N.H. - From a jail cell in this rural corner of New Hampshire, Sam A. Miller waged a philosophical battle, one milk carton at a time.

The soft-spoken electrical engineer declined food for nearly a month, save for swigs of milk. To eat, he said, would be caving to the tyrannical government powers that placed him here for illegally filming in a courthouse and refusing to reveal his legal name to jail officials. (He says it's private; jail officials obtained it from a fingerprint trace.)

His resistance has made him a folk hero among antigovernment types who have been making their way to New Hampshire from points across the country since their leaders put out a clarion call six years ago.

The Free Staters, as they are known, hope to lure thousands of like-minded souls to the state, with the goal of paring government to a bare minimum by eliminating things like taxes, speed limits, and zoning laws.

Thus far, just 427 Free Staters have relocated. Yet, here in Keene and in pockets across New Hampshire, Free Staters are making their case in increasingly provocative ways.

"Like Ghandi, like Martin Luther King, we need to educate and enlighten the public," said Miller, who joined the Free State movement after breaking up with his fiancée.

The actions have ranged from the odd, such as when Free Staters filed another person's fingernails without a manicurist's license on a public sidewalk or held an unlicensed puppet show, to the irksome, as when they tried to dig a garden in a downtown Keene park, to the instigative, such as the day they stood on a street corner with a marijuana bud held aloft. Sometimes, they simply veer toward obstinate, wearing hats in a courtroom after being asked to take them off or refusing to remove a couch from a lawn.

When arrests have followed, Free Staters have sought to film the criminal proceedings from beginning to end, including scenes from courthouse lobbies, where filming is not allowed in some cases, such as in Keene District Court. The lobby filming has yielded more arrests (often, with Free Staters going limp as officers approach) and more footage that Free Staters post on websites such as FreeKeene.com, which has proved an effective recruiting tool.

The so-called liberty actions have been met with some bemusement by residents of this gently tolerant city, population 22,800, home to Keene State College, near the border of Vermont. But some say the tactics have taken on a menacing hue, such as when Free Staters have gathered on the streets of downtown Keene with holstered guns on their waists, visible on their waists.

"When they first came to town, there was a welcoming spirit. A lot of people were like, 'OK,' " said Richard Van Wickler, a Keene resident and superintendent of the Cheshire County Department of Corrections. "But unfortunately what happens is that when [Free Staters] take the radical approach, that invites people to get angry."Continued...

[disorderlyvision]

More fundamentally unnerving, some say, is the Free Staters' efforts to secure government positions, with the goal of whittling down or eliminating them. The Free State Project's president, Varrin Swearingen, said in a telephone interview there are four state representatives with ties to the project and a "double-digit number" on local boards and commissions. He declined to release their names, saying to do so would violate their privacy, though he said some have "outed" themselves.


The officials already are wielding influence, he said. For example, a Free Stater elected to a planning board in a town near Keene, which he would not identify, swayed the board to vote against a zoning ordinance restricting new big box stores, a measure the Free State member said unfairly restricted property rights.

The Free State Project is the brainchild of Jason Sorens, a State University of New York-Buffalo political science professor who published an article in 2001 in the online magazine Libertarian Enterprise outlining the idea. "Government should be there to protect people's rights but otherwise allow for the maximum amount of freedom," Sorens said in a telephone interview. "It goes back to John Locke and Thomas Jefferson."

The article made a splash in libertarian circles, and in 2003, some 2,500 followers of Sorens voted to make New Hampshire their laboratory, believing that the state's flinty individualism would jibe with its view of small government, limited to "protecting life, liberty, and property." Then former governor Craig Benson endorsed the group's plan, and would-be revolutionaries began trickling into the state.

Unlike militia groups in the West, Free Staters are not loners who seek to live solitary existences undisturbed by government intrusion. "You tend to find people [in the Free State Project] who are happy to live in cities and towns and who want to persuade people that freedom is better than tyranny," Swearingen said in an interview.

There was no concerted plan to make Keene a focal point. But when high-profile activists, such as Ian "Freeman" Bernard, host of "Free Talk Live," a nationally syndicated radio program, and Lauren Canario, a veteran civil disobedience activist, found their way here, others followed. Today, Keene counts several dozen outspoken Free Staters and more who operate less flamboyantly. The Keene Free Staters tend toward the far end of the Free State Project spectrum, believing that government should not just be limited, but eradicated.

On a recent day, six Free Staters gathered at a Panera's in Keene to talk about the Project. The members hailed from across the country - Oklahoma, Florida, California, Nevada. Many are single men; the majority are computer programmers. They tend to speak in precise diction and with overarching politeness. But at the mention of government, they betray a brimming anger and declare zealous dedication to the Free State Project.

"Short of death - no limits," said Canario, the lone woman at the gathering, who spent over a month in jail when she refused to provide identification or speak to a police officer who pulled her over for speeding.

The Free Staters said they have no plans to temper their acts of civil disobedience, and if anything, will ramp up their attacks on the court system for not permitting them to film in the lobby. (Court officials say the ban is necessary to prevent the filming of children or domestic violence victims who may be present in the lobby.)

But Free Staters, keenly aware of their image, have undertaken a public relations campaign. Hoping to end the use of parking meters, Free Staters have fanned out across Keene on recent afternoons to place nickels in expired meters, leaving notes on windshields signed "Robin of Keene."

For inspiration, they say they need look no further than to Miller's jailing and hunger strike, which he ended Sunday. The 30-something son of a Dallas police officer faces one misdemeanor count of resisting arrest, said Miller and Ivy Walker, his acting legal counsel.

During an interview in the airless visitors room of Cheshire County Jail, Miller said he has scratched "FreeKeene" into a wall with his thumb and befriended other inmates, who gave him their milk. Still, he said, jail has only reinforced his abiding conviction that government, as constituted, is an enslaver.

"I see Free Staters as the modern-day abolitionists," he said.

[Aratus]

almost 500 freestaters are noticed by boston.com? neat!! i am thinking how many months
we spent debating the freer states of our union, and their own true merits! way to go N.H!!!

[Imperial]

Awesome article! I don't think I could find it in my heart to abandon the greatest state in the Union for a long time, but maybe one day...

[Ozwest]

disorderlyvision,

I respect your vision, but you are shooting yourself in the foot.

Divide and Conquer?

[disorderlyvision]

disorderlyvision,

I respect your vision, but you are shooting yourself in the foot.

Divide and Conquer?

What are you talking about?

[Ozwest]

Why does America run on a two party system?

[South Park Fan]

Is Sam A. Miller supposed to be Sam Dodson, or is there another Sam from the FSP in a Keene jail cell?

[Ozwest]

You want to fractionalize what's left...

[Ozwest]

That's what happened to Ron Paul.

[Ozwest]

Most of America are unaware of what is happening next...

[Ozwest]

Economic Collapse...

[disorderlyvision]

Economic Collapse...

no wonder you have 7000+ posts. you have several replies, all short, and I and probably noone else still has a f'n clue what you are talking about

[torchbearer]

Economic Collapse...

That started in 1910. In georgia- on a small island.

[heavenlyboy34]

w00t! I'm glad the free staters are scarin the bejeebus out of the statists out there! :)

[Ozwest]

no wonder you have 7000+ posts. you have several replies, all short, and I and probably noone else still has a f'n clue what you are talking about

Here's a short reply for you...

BITE ME!

[Ozwest]

Let's get started.

You want long sentences?

[Ozwest]

Torchbearer,

Good to hear from you,

I am dealing from a person in your part of the country, partially on your recommendation.

Cheers.

[disorderlyvision]

Let's get started.

You want long sentences?

are you capable?

[torchbearer]

Torchbearer,

Good to hear from you,

I am dealing from a person in your part of the country, partially on your recommendation.

Cheers.

I know I keep threatening this.. but if it is ever financial possible, we will have to get together. I'll bring the catfish.

[Ozwest]

A couple of Monsters already.

[Ozwest]

are you capable?

Bring it on.

[Ozwest]

I can tell, you are going to be a self-indulgent prick...

[Ozwest]

Copy and paste...

[disorderlyvision]

disorderlyvision,

I respect your vision, but you are shooting yourself in the foot.

Divide and Conquer?

you could start by answering my first question. What are you talking about? try to keep it into one reply. if you can handle that.

[Ozwest]

No wisdom yet?

[Ozwest]

America is conquered and divided.

[Ozwest]

Constitution and the rule of law in shambles...

[Ozwest]

We agree?

[Ozwest]

Give me a snappy answer.

[disorderlyvision]

yes the

[disorderlyvision]

constitution is in shambles....

[Ozwest]

I sell gold and silver.

I am biased.

[disorderlyvision]

what is

[disorderlyvision]

your point

[Danke]

are

[disorderlyvision]

I must be

[torchbearer]

the wait between post used to be longer when we had more active members.

[Danke]

you

[disorderlyvision]

missing it

[torchbearer]

are

"be" verbs are not a strong way to express yourself.
"actions" verbs. "action" verbs.

[Danke]

sure?

[disorderlyvision]

completely

[Ozwest]

I'm not sure... Hahaha

But I reckon we sit on the same side of the fence.

[disorderlyvision]

i am try

[disorderlyvision]

ing to get

[disorderlyvision]

7000 posts...

[Ozwest]

It's 5:07 am in Australia... Sunday morning...

[disorderlyvision]

this seems

[disorderlyvision]

to work great

[Ozwest]

Hoy!! I'm a Ron Paul Man!

[Ozwest]

If you wre, you would have the same amount of posts.

[disorderlyvision]

the fence on the same side we probably are...

[disorderlyvision]

If you wre, you would have the same amount of posts.

I got two years to catch up...you joined first...but know I know your secrets to post count...

[torchbearer]

I got two years to catch up...you joined first...but know I know your secrets to post count...

My secret remains in the vaults of Fort Knox, the only thing left there.

[Ozwest]

Peace friend.

[Ozwest]

I am sitting on 4 notification...

[disorderlyvision]

aye!

[disorderlyvision]

I am sitting on 4 notifications,,,


will they hatch like eggs if you set long enough?

[Ozwest]

My choice.

I am not like this as a businessman.

I reckon we'd do all right in a fox-hole.

[Flash]

So why are some of these free staters acting like loonies? There's no need to be so radical.

[Ozwest]

I free-state in Australia.

I admire a document.

[Ozwest]

The most beautiful document ever written...

[Ozwest]

So why are some of these free staters acting like loonies? There's no need to be so radical.

Bullshit!

You are sucked in.

There is a young man in your state, sitting in jail, for the right of LAW and freedom.

[Ozwest]

Read your founding fathers words!

[dr. hfn]

Digg it!!!!

[FSP-Rebel]

Can we please stay on topic w/o the bickering?


So why are some of these free staters acting like loonies? There's no need to be so radical.
What's so loony about standing up for freedom? I'm not one of the anarchists/voluntaryists but they get lot's of press coverage because of their flamboyance. Anyway, why don't you come up here and show us how you would operate as a freestater? We welcome anyone who cares enough to stand for and promote freedom. Most anyone on this board would qualify. We also welcome foreigners. If you like freedom, join the http://freestateproject.org as you have at least a couple to a handful of years before you're technically supposed to move. But, it's the early movers that are laying the foundation for those who come later. If ya can't move for whatever reason and you like what we're doing, send us a few bucks and we'll use it to advertise to other liberty lovers: http://www.freestateproject.org/volunteer/donate - also you can sign up as a 'friend' of the project if ya can't move anytime soon. As a related side note, this summer is gearing up to be a big one for us as far as new movers and signers are concerned. If ya want a nice summer vacation w/ hundreds of dedicated liberty activists, come up here and get a better feel for who we are and what we're about. Also make some contacts in addition to seeing the state and its exceptionally beautiful scenery at the Porcupine Freedom Festival - http://www.freestateproject.org/festival/. You'll be able to hang out with the dudes from motorhomediaries.com as they will be here and all of them are freestaters. More so, if you live in or around New England, swing thru and do some shopping as we have NO sales tax so you can bulk up on cheaper goods and cheap alcohol.:p

Also, Free Talk Live will be broadcasting live from the Festival and they always put on fantastic shows. At Porc-Fest, there's live studio audiences which are one of the main attractions.

[FSP-Rebel]

Digg it!!!!

http://digg.com/politics/Antigovernment_activists_putting_down_roots_in_N_H

[Keith and stuff]

Thanks for digging this folks, it was made popular. Also, thanks for emailing it to your friends, it was made the most emailed article of the day. Additionally, thanks for the positive comments. The 20 comments on the article with the most kudos were all positive. You folks rock!

[Kraig]

So why are some of these free staters acting like loonies? There's no need to be so radical.

You sure about that? If this is your idea of radical, then yes there is a great need for it.


The so-called liberty actions have been met with some bemusement by residents of this gently tolerant city, population 22,800, home to Keene State College, near the border of Vermont. But some say the tactics have taken on a menacing hue, such as when Free Staters have gathered on the streets of downtown Keene with holstered guns on their waists, visible on their waists.