The government’s paid shill, NHPR, manages to conflate all. the. things. incorrectly. here. [Go figure.]
Some initial thoughts on the targeting by the Deep State of #bitcoin and #crypto activists in the Free State:
The SEC’s case against LBRY and the FBI’s case against Keene Bitcoin ATM operators have nothing to do with each other, other than the undeniable fact that Big Gov is now shamelessly targeting peaceful political dissidents who are participants of the Free State Project, where I serve on the board. You can read more about how you can #HelpLBRYSaveCrypto HERE.
Free Staters subscribe to the ethical stance of the “nonaggression principle,” applied equally to all human interactions (i.e. “the government” doesn’t get a free pass to bully you against your will). Free Staters are determined to lead the way to a better future by dismantling corrupt and immoral crony structures through entrepreneurial human action.
We have a big PR battle ahead of us, and it is going to be all hands on deck to make sure our friends and neighbors in the Free State understand the following:
In NH, just as numerous states have nullified cannabis laws over the past decade, crypto transactions are exempt from federal money transmitters laws. See: https://www.jdsupra.com/…/new-hampshire-exempts…/
In NH, based on my current understanding of past similar situations, either the local NH law enforcement was not authorized to act with federal agents, or the entire case must be done in NH courts. (See: https://www.aclu.org/…/federal-immigration-officials…)
Bitcoin and other crypto currencies were designed in part to hedge against inflation caused by flagrant monetary expansion. If you don’t understand this sentence, you cannot be a juror on these cases. Jury nullification, thanks to past work by free staters, is alive and well in NH.
LBRY’s Odysee is a censor-proof platform. This must terrify our actively censoring Big (Bad) Bros and provides an unseemly motivation for their actions.
Ian Freeman and I don’t always see eye-to-eye but he is a peaceful man, and it is an insult to say he is a “danger to the community.” I’m glad to hear the bail refusal will be appealed. Side note: When did “innocent until proven guilty” go away? How can it be lawful to add things like “no alcohol” or “no phones” to bail conditions? We have so much stuff to fix, grr!
In order for these cases to have any legs, you’d need to apply the same “logic” to other institutions. Has a US bank or Paypal or Facebook never been used for a “romance scam” before? How is it the responsibility of the ATM operator to manage that? Doesn’t every US dollar note have traces of cocaine of it? Can we lock the Fed Gov up for that?
Clearly, this targeted federal government overreach is directed against leaders in the crypto industry because #crypto offers the most significant option to peacefully replace the most corrupt structures in the world in favor of decentralized power… in the hands of the people, for realz!
And it starts with what happens with these cases in the Free State of NH. Stay tuned…
March 2021
You CAN Fight City Hall and Laurie Is Proof Positive! (Manch Talk 03/30/21)
This week on Manch Talk, I am joined by Right-to-Know open government activist, Laurie Ortolano from Nashua. Laurie takes us through an in-depth look at her case to make sure Nashua City Hall and the tax assessors office are functioning properly in an open, accessible, accountable and responsive way. (Psst: Guess what? They’re not, and she and other activists have been arrested to prove it!) (Double psst: What do you call it when the Mayor in a town gets special tax treatment?)
I’ve been pretty testy about the Executive Orders issued by Chris Sununu over the past year, but legislators I work with assured me that these orders would end by March. Then I was told, it would be the end of March. And yet, here we are, March 26, 2021, and Sununu has once again extended his “Emergency Orders”.
More than a year has passed since the NH Superior Court said that “because the Court finds that Governor Sununu has the authority to suspend or limit fundamental rights during a state of emergency, and because EO #2 constitutes a reasonable time, place and manner restriction” meaning that the “emergency order” needed to be SHORT and LIMITED in scope to pass Constitutional muster. One year is NOT short and limited in scope.
Last year today, I jokingly suggested we should consider a tax revolt, meaning that “nonessential” Granite State taxpayers should consider whether they think they’ve been treated in a way that makes them amenable to continuing to pay their property taxes at the full rate.
When you consider most of our property taxes go to support government-run schools, which have been closed for most of the past year (private schools have been open the whole time without negative health outcomes), and that teachers have been staging what amounts to “sick-outs,” and that our own Governor destroyed the economy, put thousands of people out of work, destroyed businesses, and implemented an unnecessary mask mandate, perhaps the time has come reconsider whether we’re getting what we bargained for with regard to our property taxes… I mean, they clearly, unambiguously told us they thought we were NONESSENTIAL. Perhaps it’s time to show them how “nonessential” we are!
One year ago today, the rule of law died in New Hampshire.
Facts matter:
* The “Emergency Orders” are still standing today
* The “Emergency” involved large hospitals like CMC treating, on average, less than TWO PATIENTS PER DAY
* The NH DHHS’s own data shows there is NO “emergency” in terms of excess all-cause mortality in NH
And yet, one year ago today, a judge claimed the governor has the right to SUSPEND the US and NH Constitutions… And now King Chris Sununu is demanding our legislature should not try to curb these emergency powers? Huh. So many history lessons here…
Read the rule of law destroying court order signed by Judge Kissinger HERE.
What Will It Take to Break Kids Free from One-Size-Fits-All Education? (Manch Talk 03/23/21)
Did you know in NH public schools since 1994:
# Teachers has INCREASED by 23%
All other staff has INCREASED by 80%
Spending per pupil has INCREASED 66%
And yet… enrollment is DOWN 9%???
The public school sector is straight-up LYING TO YOU. The pupil to staff ratio is now 10:1. Support school choice… it’s the only way to break the education monopoly to ensure each Granite Stater child gets the education they choose at a price point taxpayers can afford! [SOURCE: Josiah Bartlett Center]
From a 2012 interview in GQ… Not to date myself, but I’ve been doing this “Free State of NH” thing for a good long while… and now I need YOU! Interested in helping to build the coolest little independent state in the North x North East?
Come to the 18th Annual Porcupine Freedom Festival to learn more about the thousands of #bitcoin and #crypto early adopters building a consent-based society based on self-ownership. PorcFest XVIII tix for folks like comedian Dave Smith, Tom Woods are only $50 right now, get yours today.
Read the whole interview at GQ.
The Free State is THAT “Cool Little Planet,” And PorcFest is YOUR Landing Pad
If you’re a #LIBERTARIAN, you should come to PorcFest 2021 (XVIII) because we’re about to enter into Totalitarian Empire Time, and the Free State of NH is well-positioned to become that one “cool little planet where everyone stops to trade, fix their space ship, and hire a mercenary.” You know the one, that free market, low-key spot where everyone gets along because they don’t give a shit beyond *trading* for what they want!
If you’re putting a village together for PorcFest (which is sort of the mini-version of this planet) please, invite me to speak to your peeps. I have a lot to say! Buy your $50 tickets for Dave Smith, Tom Woods, Dr Naomi Wolf, Matt Kibbe and more today! Get them soon, because we’ve sold a record amount of tickets and we may have to cap attendance! You. Have. Been. Warned.
A bit about me and my skills and 25+ years of experience as an author, activist, and attorney. My mantra is #LiveFreeAndThrive! My subjects:
* Independence/secession/”Yankee Hong Kong”
* ReOpen/ReBuild NH activities/critic of lockdown and Covid response
* Free State Project: I have been actively involved since I first organized PorcFest in 2009 and am the only person to have done it x3 including in 2020 like a mofo libertarian HERO!!! , I was the president from 2010-2016, got Edward Snowden, triggered the move, and now serve as Chair of the board
* Police accountability/qualified immunity, including a deep understanding of NH’s secret Laurie’s List, I’m an active and outspoken critic of police militarization, incl. BEARCATS, police radio encryption, drones, and unlawful surveillance cameras (lost my 2019 lawsuit, boo!)
* First Amendment/free speech, including winning my 2014 landmark and well-cited 1st Circuit First Amendment case affirming the right to film police encounters in public, Gericke vs. Begin et al
* Right-to-Know/NH Open Government, incl. court cases like Brady, Fenniman, Keene 5, etc. Suggested getting redacted Laurie’s List printed in the newspaper for Sunshine Week 2021
* “Art as Activism,” including teaching writing skills (I have an MFA in creative writing in addition to my law degree) and my book The Ecstatic Pessimist (which everyone should buy on Amazon!!! It includes 13 essays about my NH activism and the FSP)
* Politics and running for NH Senate x3 as an unabashed Free Stater and getting 45% in 2020, see Carla Gericke for New Hampshire
* “Liberty as a Lifestyle,” so how to improve your health, diet, fasting, keto, yoga, sleep, cooking from scratch, and my own transformation including losing and keeping off 65 lbs and living alcohol-free.
Learn more: https://www.carlagericke.com/about/
As the government asserts more and more control over every aspect of your life, going so far as to unlawfully claim they have the right to tell you what face coverings to wear in public, our NH police become less and less transparent.
They spy on us with ill-gotten surveillance cameras, but hide their actions from us. Does this sound right to you?
Traditionally, in Manchester, we had access to the police scanners. This was a simple way for the press and public to exercise some oversight over police actions on our streets, and to know when militarized tools like the BEARCAT was deployed. Around 2016, Chief Willard, in a backroom deal with the City, simply encrypted the scanners. NO PUBLIC INPUT/HEARING WAS HELD.
Today, since it is #SunshineWeek, and I serve on Right-to-Know NH, a statewide nonpartisan coalition of open government advocates, I asked Chief Aldenberg about how he will approach MPD transparency.
The Chief refused to answer whether any active MPD are on the current redacted Laurie’s List/EES. The NH Supreme Court overruled Fenniman last year, and the “personnel record” exception no longer applies. Nor, frankly, should it ever be permissible, in a functioning open society, for state agents, especially those permitted to use lethal force, to hide their own bad behavior from citizens. Watch this week’s episode of Manch Talk for a primer on the Laurie’s List, the court cases, and where we currently stand.
When asked about the dark scanners, the Chief suggested “that’s just how it is.” Chief, you have an opportunity to reverse course on this issue, and be more open and transparent. Please consider this.
The Chief also incorrectly stated the police log is updated every 30 minutes. It’s not. AND, not all calls are logged. Why’s that?
If the police log online is now the public’s sole “check and balance,” what reassurances do we have about the veracity or timeliness of the information on the log? How can we exercise any oversight? Is this how you establish trust? I think we can do better…
Please consider your duty and oath to the NH Constitution:
[Art.] 8. [Accountability of Magistrates and Officers; Public’s Right to Know.] All power residing originally in, and being derived from, the people, all the magistrates and officers of government are their substitutes and agents, and at all times accountable to them. Government, therefore, should be open, accessible, accountable and responsive. To that end, the public’s right of access to governmental proceedings and records shall not be unreasonably restricted. The public also has a right to an orderly, lawful, and accountable government…
ACCOUNTABLE AND RESPONSIVE.
Thanks for doing the Q&A, Manchester NH Police. I look forward to seeing us make progress on these issues to improve citizens’ oversight of your department.
If Only There Was a Way to Tell Who the Bad Cops Are… Oh, Wait… (Manch Talk 03/16/21)
In honor of Sunshine Week, this Sunday, the Union Leader printed the entire redacted Laurie’s List to show Granite Staters the shocking number cops with “sustained findings of misconduct” being hidden from public view. We discuss your Constitutionally-protected Right-to-Know, recent court successes, and suspicious rollbacks being attempted at the State House. Tune in to learn more!
Learn more about this issue:
Open government
Government accountability
Free yourself from the Tyranny of Other People’s Opinions! Once I shifted my focus from what the world thinks about what I do (or what *I think* the world thinks–never assume!) to only what *I* think about what I do, my life has blossomed.
Why? Because when you make your locus of focus internal not external, you free yourself to be your best self. You learn to only measure yourself against yourself, your goals, and what you are personally achieving. YOU are the master or mistress of your destiny!
Know this: You cannot heal the world if YOU are unhealthy, mentally and/or physically. If you think there’s something wrong with the world, you need to consider what might be wrong with YOU and then CHANGE.
The “common good” means you take care of YOURSELF, not that *I* have to take care of YOU. Find balance in YOUR mind, body, and soul: Healthy self = heal thy self.
Want to learn more? Read about my transformation in The Ecstatic Pessimist (BUY NOW from Amazon or me). Read my 10 Steps to Radically Improve Your Life and about my own transformation.
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