CLICK HERE to watch my recent interview about The Ecstatic Pessimist (buy yours directly from me now), the Free State Project, my activism in New Hampshire, and more!
This expansive interview covers many of the essays in the book, including a 420 rally gone wrong, growing up in South Africa under apartheid, issues like police accountability, libertarianism , and more!
Last month at a fun Freedom Fest in Rapid City, SD, I sat down with C-Span Book TV to chat about The Ecstatic Pessimist and all my activism in New Hampshire as part of the Free State Project. Catch the first airing on Sunday morning at 8AM.
Watch this Twitter promo featuring me talking about the FSP’s origin story…
Sometimes, bucket list moments just happen… Today on Roatan Island I experienced two. In order to live “the good life,” remember to always seize the moment and mindfully appreciate the day!
Cross off “hiking through the jungle at Noon to the top of a rather big hill–some might say small mountain–to see the view for yourself because you have worked incredibly hard to be healthy enough to do so.” That view was earned, and mine to cherish.
The privilege of seeing the massive blooming Cannonball tree–the only one on the island, the old man said. It looks like it came straight from Babylon. Golden blooms cascade on vines from the sky, black “famine fruit” pods hang in between, a fragrant death-carpet smells sweet underfoot. If, like me, you spent many days as a child escaping into the magic offered by trees–climbing, dreaming, drawing, reading–you might also recognize this tree as a portal to faraway lands. It took my breath away; I am grateful to have seen such glory.
For all the Harry Potter fans out there… I also found Nature’s Golden Snitch from Quidditch (see OP photo). All in all, and add a slice of Key Lime pie, an extraordinarily beautiful day!
This week, Carla describes the dystopian nightmare of trying to renew her passport, she fills us in on the recently held Freedom Fest in Rapid City, SD, and Tammy tells us more about the candidates running in the upcoming Manchester elections.
7 Reasons why YOU should come to Carla Gericke’s “The Ecstatic Pessimist” book roundtable at 1:10p at the Exhibitor Hall Bookstore and/or the Boomer/Zoomer debate at 3:10p on Stage 2. #ffest21
1. Author, activist, and attorney, Carla Gericke has been successfully cat-herding thousands of libertarians in the Free State of New Hampshire for more than a dozen years.
2. In 2020, despite lockdown orders to the contrary, Carla told the world that “PorcFest is a First and Second Amendment protected assembly,” and proceeded to host the then 17th Annual Porcupine Freedom Festival, the ONLY event worldwide to proceed as scheduled. More than one thousand libertarians, including folks like Tom Woods, gathered for a weeklong celebration of liberty, without any negative health consequences.
3. In 2014, Carla, after being arrested in 2010 and charged with felony wiretapping carrying a 7-year sentence for filming a routine traffic stop, fought back and won a landmark First Circuit lawsuit against the federal government that affirmed the First Amendment right to film police officers, and that qualified immunity would no longer apply. That year, Carla was named one of NH Magazine’s “Remarkable Women.” This widely-cited case is part of the reason we are now talking about police accountability and reform because for the first time in human history, ordinary citizens CAN RECORD and PROVE police malfeasance.
4. In 2020, Carla ran for NH Senate (R) on a pro-liberty platform critical of lockdowns and mask mandates. She got 44% against a now 12-term Establishment Elite (D). (Consider contributing to her 2022 race!)
5. Nick Gillespie of Reason Magazine said “The Ecstatic Pessimist,” is “a fantastic package of writings that veer from fiction to autobiography and memoir to political polemics…. I highly recommend ‘The Ecstatic Pessimist: Stories of Hope (Mostly)’.”
6. In late 2017, at the age of 45, Carla decided to retool her life for health and longevity. She quit drinking alcohol, adopted an Ancestral lifestyle by following a Keto/Paleo diet and doing intermittent fasting (now up to 7 days), returned to her yoga and meditation practice, and lost 50+ pounds, which she has kept off. The concluding personal essay in The Ecstatic Pessimist deals with this inspirational story, and offers lessons for others seeking to improve their own lives. Live free and thrive!
7. The Ecstatic Pessimist contains award-winning, previously published short stories written while completing her MFA in Creative Writing, as well as 13 essays about the Free State Project and her activism in New Hampshire, including:
* The world’s first pro-TOR protest to save a local NH library from the Department of Homeland Security’s overreach;
* A 420 rally that went horribly wrong when undercover narcs arrested the only Black kid;
* Fighting police militarization and being called a “domestic terrorist” in 2013 in a government grant application for a BEARCAT. Frankly, this 2021 “extremist” stuff seems like a… downgrade?!? 
Buy your copy of “The Ecstatic Pessimist: Stories of Hope (Mostly)” at the Bookstore, and then come join Carla at 1:10p for a roundtable discussion, and to get your copy signed! Can’t make it? Read this essay!
We discuss the border issue and the kids still being held in cages… what are you doing about it now? Also on the menu are the issue of NH police body cams not being subject to Right-to-Know disclosure, how and why the legacy media is playing you, and more!
This week we discuss fireworks, censorship, “We HEART West” community clean-ups, and why big government is bad at fixing problems.
On this holiday celebrating independence, I went back to Bikram hot yoga after an almost 6 month hiatus (hence the red face). Why? Because in order to advocate for human liberty and self-ownership, free and independent from statism, I need to be the best me I can.
Hot yoga is both my albatross and talisman.
It’s SO HARD for me now, half the time I want to barf, the other half, I’m hoping I won’t die, but I feel oh-so good when those sweltering 90 mins are over. I was fairly proficient in the late 90s, then career and life choices meant I strayed, got fat, and unhealthy. Once I decided to rebalance my life, which included changing my diet to keto/paleo, quitting alcohol, and adopting Ancestral living, I have been going back sporadically, yet I keep try, try, trying to make it a regular habit without it quite “taking.”
I know if I practice hot yoga routinely, even just once a week, it will remarkably improve my health for the rest of my life. Building new habits and routines is hard, but there is literally only one way to do it, and that is to SHOW UP and TRY.
Today, I showed up, and I’m proud of myself and grateful that I’m still willing to try! I share this to hopefully motivate YOU to show up to something that is important to YOU. Something that you know will help YOU reach more of YOUR goals. Feel free to share a goal YOU want to turn into a routine, and let’s help keep each other accountable. #LiveFreeAndThrive
We chat about the seemingly unlimited hypocrisy of the people who constantly call us names, PorcFest, school choice, and more!