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!
The 18th Annual Porcupine Freedom Festival ended yesterday, but lament not, tickets are already on sale for 2022. Get yours TODAY! Why come to PorcFest? Because if you’ve ever wondered what the Free State Project is about, there’s no better way to get a flavor of our growing and thriving community than spending a week camping with us in the woods.
Over the years, PorcFest has often been described by attendees as “a gateway drug for the liberty curious.” PorcFest draws people who sense something is unbalanced in our world and are seeking answers–whether it is to the violence we see, the pain and suffering caused by the state in the name of control, the destruction of our purchasing power through inflation and unsustainable monetary policy, or, well, frankly, whatever the f*ck 2020 was–PorcFest is the place where free-thinkers come to share their visions for a better world.
After almost two decades, we know that mingling our community’s “porc power” with the “liberty curious” turns attendees into movers. We also know the more like-minded, peaceful people we can gather together in New Hampshire, the stronger our chances of building the “prosperity-for-all” future we seek.
We are on a mission to create a peaceful free state based on voluntary human interaction and consent.
This year, we sold more than 2,500 tickets. We had scores of intellectuals and academics speaking about a myriad of socio-economic topics, including feminist writer Naomi Wolf (read THIS) and antiwar spokesman Scott Horton. For the first time, both the Anthem Film Festival, and Gene Epstein’s SOHO Forum were present. We were also delighted to welcome back some of our favorites, like economist David Friedman, podcaster Tom Woods, writer Jeffrey Tucker, and comedian Dave Smith.
PorcFest XVIII had 15 main stage sponsors and 10 facilities sponsors. About 500 decentralized events were hosted by smaller hubs, villages, and individuals across the campground. Topics ranged from knitting and knives, to body positivity and health freedom, to tiny homes, off-the-grid living and how to raise chickens, to school choice and unschooling, to teaching newbies gun safety and how to shoot.
Hundreds of free-range children spent the week playing together. Some sold printed programs, knickknacks, and walked dogs for cash. Drones flew over drum circles. A Thriller flash mob appeared on the field before the Bardo Pork roast on Saturday, which took place opposite a Shrimp Boil. [Aside: I had incredible #freedomnomnom noshes all week long, including authentic bánh mì sandwiches and phở. I’ll do an entire foodie post later!]
PorcFest epitomizes the best of the Free State movement: individualism, team work, selling and buying things, crypto and other alternatives to the coercion of the state, sharing ideas, agreeing, disagreeing, growing, thriving, teaching and learning, all always, always PEACEFUL.
Reporters often ask me, “Explain who Free Staters are,” and, after I have a good belly laugh, I explain that as individuals, we are all different, but if there’s one thing you might say unites us, it’s the ethical stance of the non-aggression principle. As one of PorcFest’s sponsors, Free the People’s t-shirt says: “Don’t hurt ppl; don’t take their stuff.” Easy enough!
I’ve been doing this “Liberty lives in New Hampshire” thing for a good long time now. I attended my first PorcFest in 2005, and moved to New Hampshire in 2008. I organized PorcFest in 2009 and 2010, doubling attendance. In 2020, I proceeded with PorcFest XVII as a First and Second Amendment protected assembly, with no negative outcomes.
This year feels different, like we’ve arrived. PorcFest XVIII’s Chef de Village, Dennis Pratt, somehow managed to take the picture I’ve had in my head for years and years and made it appear before my eyes. I am in awe of what Dennis accomplished.
By engaging and energizing hundreds of others to bring their best and brightest, to bring their ideas and passions, to bring their swagger and game, i.e. by decentralizing and trusting one another, we had the biggest and best PorcFest yet!
A HUGE, SPECIAL THANK YOU to Dennis Pratt and the entire volunteer team, especially the core heavy lifters, Chris Lopez, Constance Spencer, Shawn Grissom, Pete E, Scott S, Frans Honer, Katie, Aureus H, Zoe Noctum, Anie, Stephen Nass (and their relevant partners!), and all the other amazeballs, incredible, awesomesauce Free Staters who worked hard to make PorcFest a smashing success!
As totalitarianism grows around us, so too does interest in the opposite: self-respect and human dignity through self-ownership. As I jokingly said throughout PorcFest XVIII: “2020 was good for those of us in the freedom business!” The more the boot of the state stomps down, the stronger our movement grows.
Remember: There is safety in numbers.
Think of the Free State movement as creating a “libertarian safe space” where we can choose to “Live Free and Thrive!” Surely we too are allowed to exist somewhere? In many ways, Free Staters are refugees, seeking safe harbor from the exploitation of a corrupt, immoral, unrestricted, and unaccountable federal government.
We seek one place to exist, and we come in peace to New Hampshire in order to preserve and expand the liberties we find here.
If YOU are liberty curious, I encourage you to follow the Free State Project, PorcFest, and me personally (Twitter; Facebook; Insta; MeWe; YouTube–where I host a weekly political show and have a cooking show called #Freedomnomnom). The FSP will be hosting more events as we grow, so stay tuned for more info, but in the meantime, buy your PorcFest XIX tickets TODAY for June 20-26, 2022.
I will be writing more pieces about PorcFest in the coming days, and encourage you to seek more information online (see #porcfest on social media). I will update here on The Art of Independence with news pieces and other speakers media and social media posts as I gather them.
Thank you to everyone who attended, love ya, and see YOU next year, if not before! My heart is full.
The more things change the more they stay the same!?! PorcFest is happening next week in the beautiful White Mountains of the Free State of New Hampshire.
We’re SOLD OUT, and expecting more than 2,500 people, of which 2/3 are from out of state. That’s a LOT of potential movers, people seeking a better life, which is what living in liberty in NH offers!
As the rest of the world moves towards more top-down control and totalitarianism, I encourage all peaceful liberty lovers who believe in private property and self-ownership to join us!
I am doing several talks at PorcFest, including “Make America States Again”; my future vision; police accountability; and the how and why of the Free State Project. I am looking forward to talks by speakers like Naomi Wolf, Tom Woods, Jeffrey Tucker, Gene Epstein, Stephen Kinsella, Scott Horton, and more!
On Saturday at 6PM, we are again hosting SOAPBOX IDOL, which is YOUR opportunity to do a 3-minute rant about whatever you are most passionate about. Don’t miss the auditions 11A most days in the Upper Picnic Tent.
If you haven’t looked at the schedule yet, it’s bananas! On top of the main field, there are HUNDREDS of programs, from knitting to newbie shoots, being offered by individuals. Be sure to walk around the campground and enjoy each others’ company. We are all here to learn and share!
A reminder, PorcFest is about personal responsibility, i.e. how YOU are behaving and showing up in the world. We want YOU to have the time of your life, while also being considerate of others. Attendees run the gamut from singles to great-grandparents, with a lot of families with young ‘uns in-between. Quiet time is 11PM. Tomorrow is another day; pace yourself. 
Take photos, record talks, and use this PUBLIC link to upload pics: https://dropevent.com/PorcFest. Live tweet, and help us create buzz and capture memories. Use #PorcFest and #LiveFreeAndThrive. I can’t wait to meet YOU.
Come say “hi.” Plan to buy my book, The Ecstatic Pessimist for $20 and/or support my Carla Gericke for New Hampshire efforts. Liberty lives in New Hampshire! Come join the fun!
(PS: I’m pretty sure the whip was a prop. The gun and crown are real. 
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