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Open Government At Risk!

by Carla Gericke
written by Carla Gericke

HB 1002 is a REALLY bad bill. I don’t understand how it made it out of committee with an OTP–colluders!

The Union Leader op-ed desk and stalwart reporter Mark Hayward agree with me, and Right-to-Know NH, when we say this bill will destroy what’s left of the media in New Hampshire.

Think you don’t know what your government is up to? Imagine if they can drag their feet for 9 hours and then start charging you a service fee to provide Constitutionally required information? As I often say, incentives matter, and these incentives are aligned with a lack of transparency, places an unnecessary burden on citizens, and is not needed.

Here is a document prepared by RTKNH’s president Katherine Kokko. She and I will be distributing them at the statehouse this morning before the session starts.

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BlogFreedomnomnom

Freedomnomnom: What’s Cooking?

by Carla Gericke
written by Carla Gericke

I have been remiss in my #freedomnomnom postings, as some friends recently reminded me!

This isn’t because I’m not cooking, but rather, because I am in the process of kicking my real estate career into gear, and frankly, I’m a bit overwhelmed.

Add winter to the mix, starting the year with the cooties, and you’ve got a recipe for potential backsliding…

It’s true, I did, for a hot second, stop doing some of the good habits I’ve adopted, and then I remembered what I’ve learned over the past few years, which is: leverage your good base habits, NO BACKSLIDING!

BUILD! BUILD ON YOUR BASES!

Good habits are actions so deeply ingrained, they make your life better automatically.

Which means, knowing and reminding yourself you MUST TAKE TIME to:

  • Get into Nature daily
  • Hydrate
  • Nourish with whole foods cooked from scratch (I regard this as “medicine”, which is why I cook)
  • Meditate/journal/reflect
  • Exercise & lift heavy things
  • Play!

A growth mindset is vital to success in life. But perfectionists–or maybe it’s just me?–struggle when they’re not great at something from the onset.

But here’s the reality: you can’t get better if you don’t try.

Every small failure is a step on the path of greater achievements, but you’ve got to keep trucking!

I only learned to cook in my late 20s. As a high school student, I actually got banned from my Home Ec class for burning my brownies so badly the class had to be evacuated.

I decided cooking was not a skill a future professional like me needed to know. I took pride in only being able to subsist on Marmite toast and popcorn during law school. (And two packs a day.)

Both my parents were decent cooks, but I learned to cook from a Dotcom era “chef box” delivered twice a week to my doorstep in San Francisco.

“Flaky halibut with lemon sauce and crisp asparagus.” The magic was in the box: Self-contained meals with easy instructions on the proper cooking techniques.

Someone recently told me most 20-somethings don’t know how to cook.

Is this true?

If YOU don’t know how to cook, do you want to learn to make food like this?

Are there steps you can start to take so long? Have you checked out my “Freedomnomnom” Playlist on YouTube?

Much like I resisted learning to cook when I was younger, I’ve resisted focusing on my cooking beyond trying to inspire you through my own actions.

But if there’s interest and demand for more, let me know in the comments and maybe, maaaaybe we can get a cooking class… cooking?!?!

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BlogVideo

Anarchapulco 2024 Here I Come!

by Carla Gericke
written by Carla Gericke

I will be speaking at Anarchapulco again! Last time I went, was 2020, right before Covidmania set in.

I will be speaking on intentional communities, of which the Free State of New Hampshire is the most audacious and successful example. Here’s my bio for 2024:

Attorney Carla Gericke has spent 15+ years building a libertarian homeland in the Free State of New Hampshire, consistently ranked the #1 freest state. Carla is an outspoken advocate of the principles of liberty and self-ownership, understanding we lead by example by being awesome. After being arrested and facing 7-years in federal prison, Carla fought back, and in 2014 won a landmark First Amendment lawsuit affirming the right to film police officers in public and removing their claims of qualified immunity. This case positively affects the rights of 13 million residents of the First Circuit. Carla is the author of “The Ecstatic Pessimist: Stories of Hope (Mostly)” and was recently featured in a collection of autobiographies of prominent libertarians, “LIBERTARIAN AUTOBIOGRAPHIES: Moving Towards Freedom in Today’s World”. She has appeared in mainstream outlets like The Economist, Newsweek, The New Yorker, Fox, CNN, BBC, and was recently featured in the Emmy-nominated NBC docuseries, LIFE, LIBERTY AND THE PURSUIT OF NEW HAMPSHIRE. Carla’s life motto is: Live free and thrive! Learn more: CarlaGericke.com.

Below is my Main Stage talk from 2020… still one of my favorite talks ever!

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BlogIn the Media

NH Primary: Not Quite the Bread and Circuses of Yore

by Carla Gericke
written by Carla Gericke

Even as someone who despises the federal government enough that I think we can do better on our own, I’ve learned to appreciate the First in the Nation Primary in NH… It’s been described as the “Superbowl of politics,” but this time round, it’s just not what it used to be…

With Grandpa too senile and The Party too demented to bother to put Biden on the ballot, the circus element from the left is somewhat lacking.

Add to that, DeSantis and Vivek dropping out, and the circus on the right is also hamstrung.

If FITN is our Bread & Circuses, this Primary reflects more bread lines, less ringmasters.

That said, there are always opportunities to be seized.

FSP founder Jason Sorens, our new executive director and Maine Senator Eric Brakey, and I did a walk-and-talk segment with Lawrence Jones from Fox & Friends in downtown Manchester yesterday.

By happenstance, Andrew Sylvia of Manchester Ink Link was on a corner and snapped a pic of the crew following me to Hanover Street.

The 3-minute segment airs today and is a profound gift to spread the message of the Free State Project to a massive new audience. 🙌

After the shoot, we stopped for lunch at the DoubleTree, where in years past, Radio Row was buzzing, and TV news trucks would be lined up in front of the hotel.

On Sunday, Eric and I did sit down with Granite Grok to discuss our views on the upcoming Primary and the future of liberty in New Hampshire (see OP pic of Eric, who got pulled into a second interview with students from Franklin Pierce School of Law), but compared to the past, on Monday, Radio Row was bleak and there were no news trucks.

But, Andrew Yang showed up (he’s behind Jason in the photo), then Lily Tang Williams popped in to say hello, and I had a good conversation with Federation of Republican Women stalwart, Augusta Petrone, whose fantastic “pinkie up” High Teas at her beautiful mansion are always worth attending.

While I was talking to Augusta, I had my parking ticket in my hand but somehow lost it on the way to the car.

I was unnecessarily angry at myself about this, mad because my “pre-planning” (having the tix out) had backfired and now I’d have to pay a gazillion bucks for a quick lunch stop.

Me to parking attendant: “I lost my fucking ticket. But if it helps, I parked at 12:08.” He never said a word or acknowledged my statement but I only paid $8 not $22. Grateful!

Then I stopped in at the Quill and met with comedian and podcaster Andrew Heaton. Eric and Joshua Holmes sat down for an interview and I headed home to help clients who are in the market for a house.

Here’s Heaton and co at a podcast recording over the weekend.

As I drove home, I thought how thankful I am that our movement has arrived.

That Free Staters are now an embedded part of NH’s political landscape. That what we have accomplished, and will accomplish, is undeniable.

That the community we’re building is growing.That our human action is making the Live Free or Die state more better. 😛

Our time has come.

Let’s not squander it on a strategy of being assholes. Let’s leverage it to become the people other people want to be like!

Let’s emulate our principles in a way that ATTRACTS not repels. Marcus Aurelius said: “Look within. Within is the fountain of good, and it will ever bubble up, if you will ever dig.”

Let’s live free… and thrive!

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Blog

Give Me Liberty or Something Else

by Carla Gericke
written by Carla Gericke

Ran across this article “The prickly problem of a New England secessionist utopia” by Emily Cataneo at The Baffler about PorcFest 2018.

Extract:

Some of those Free Staters just want New Hampshire to become more libertarian, but others, including the Foundation for New Hampshire Independence, want the state to become its own country. Carla Gericke, president of the FNHI, is a friendly-faced middle-aged woman who wears sensible shoes and carries a vape. She and her fellow secessionists have a strong vision for what the country of New Hampshire could become. The Yankee Hong Kong. A land of German-style autobahns with no speed limits. Gambling halls like Monaco’s. Cafes like Amsterdam’s. “Granite State of Mind,” the YouTube parody of Jay-Z’s “Empire State of Mind,” could be its national anthem.

Gericke, who grew up in South Africa and moved to New Hampshire in 2008, after a pit stop in Silicon Valley, says that she came to libertarianism from the left. Part of her presentation during the roundtable involves strategies for seducing leftists to the libertarian movement.

“I wouldn’t approach it as libertarianism. I would approach it as localism when talking to your neighbors,” says Gericke. She adds, “The federal government is an abusive partner,” she says.“They beat us, they steal our stuff and lock us up. And then they say, you can’t get divorced. I feel like that argument does work well in the social justice warrior crowds. Everyone understands divorce. Everyone understands people getting hurt.”

Part of that engagement with the left, says Gericke, involves invoking the discontent and fear surrounding our new president. She calls Donald Trump the “gift that’s gonna keep on giving” for countercultural and secessionist movements like hers.

“Suddenly the leftist states are talking secession,” she says. “When we say it, it’s like, you’re a militia, you’re crazy white people in New Hampshire. But when the left says it, it’s palatable.”

Why, asks an audience member, would the United States government just let New Hampshire go?

“Good question,” Gericke says. “In the end, they wouldn’t have a say. Are they going to roll the tanks in?”

Read more about the independence movement, the Free State Project, and PorcFest at THE BAFFLER.

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Blog

Staying Positive in Our Winter Wonderland

by Carla Gericke
written by Carla Gericke

Out on the trail with 2 dogs when it’s 17F makes me… a Granite Stater! 🙂

The cold hardly bothers me anymore and I love the crunch of snow under my boots. Whenever I hear that sound I think how bizarre it is to be walking on frozen water that fell from the sky! Grrtz, grrtz.

I’m not sure what’s been most instrumental in my acclimatization:
* Proper winter outergear
* Woolen underthings
* Living here 15+ years
* THE ROUTINE COLD SHOWERS I NOW TAKE <— longevity tool

In any event, I’m glad I learned to love winter like some people love the bomb… or bong… or sumthang?!? lol

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Blog

A Spot of Hope in a Totalitarian Landscape

by Carla Gericke
written by Carla Gericke

Yesterday, I had a productive meeting at the Independence Inn with Michael Rectenwald, who is running for president on the LP ticket. Thanks to Dennis Pratt for putting it together.

I first discovered Michael years ago during his brouhaha with NYU for being the “un-PC professor”. This was round the time I was leaving NYC for the Free State of NH, graduating from City College with an MFA, where I too had had to suffer through the academic macroaggressions of circular commie “logic”, and his story resonated deeply with me.

My goal yesterday was to make sure Michael got an overview of what we are accomplishing in the Free State: our history, the reality, the vision–our bright, bright future!

Being a libertarian outside of NH can be demoralizing, so I wanted to make sure that as he proceeds on the campaign trail, he has a story of hope–the undeniable success of the Free State movement–to share with Libertarians and the liberty-curious.

Michael understands he’s not going to win the presidency, rather, he wants to help best spread the message of liberty.

This story MUST now include what we have, and will accomplish, in the Free State.

Based on our conversation, both Michael and his campaign manager, Lori Price, expressed a “take-my-business-card” desire to move! 🙂

Look, we are now in the Next Gen Phase of building THE base of the world’s best and brightest libertarians (except Milei, granted).

New Hampshire IS the beacon of liberty.

NH is the place where taxes are actually being cut, and liberty is actually still expanding. This is thanks, in great part, to Free Staters willing to stand up and say, Enough is enough.

We are the future.

We are the beacon of liberty to show the world that individual liberty, property rights and personal responsibility lead to economic prosperity, progress, and human flourishing.

We are the LIVE FREE OR DIE state, where you can choose to come LIVE FREE AND THRIVE!

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Blog

Stoics: What’s the Quality of Your Thoughts?

by Carla Gericke
written by Carla Gericke

“The happiness of your life depends upon the quality of your thoughts: therefore, guard accordingly, and take care that you entertain no notions unsuitable to virtue and reasonable nature.” ~ Marcus Aurelius

AKA: You become what you think.

Do you even KNOW your own thoughts?

That’s the #1 reason to journal, btw. To capture your thoughts, to see what is delighting or troubling you. To notice patterns, cycles, and ruminating loops.

By way of example, years ago when I started journaling, I became aware of a Super-Cunt who lived rent-free in my mind.

Only by isolating her, could I start to deal with her crap. But I could only isolate her by becoming aware of her.

This is one of the gifts of journaling.

Other advantages I’ve discovered to daily journaling:

* You think faster on your feet! Why? Because you know what you think!

* You become a better writer. Practice makes perfect, and by adopting a daily habit of writing, you will improve this skill.

* Sticking to one daily habit builds trust with yourself which can then be leveraged with other habits you want to adopt.

* You create a record of your life.

Yes, because the modern term is “journaling,” but really, it’s a diary and that’s OK! 🙂

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BlogIn the Media

Manchester Ink Link: Could New Hampshire become an independent country? Yes, if this proposed legislation succeeds

by Carla Gericke
written by Carla Gericke

Coverage of CACR 20 and HB 1130 from Manchester Ink Link.

“For Carla Gericke, Chairwoman and President Emeritus of the Free State Project, one of the primary reasons is a fear of the United States dollar losing its status as the world’s reserve currency, which would drastically harm the U.S. economy if it occurred.

Both Gerhard and Gericke believe that the separation would be peaceful with Gerhard stating that the move would emulate portions of the New Hampshire Constitution already in place such as Part 1, Article 10, which guarantees the “right of revolution.”

Gericke told the committee that the state should have the right to peacefully secede from the United States through democratic means and felt that the violent is a tool of authoritarianism, something she believes this legislation is meant to circumvent. Following the hearing, she stated that if federal response to secession was violent then it would serve as proof that secession was needed, comparing it to a domestic abuse victim blaming themselves for being abused.

“If the answer (to secession) is that (the federal government) is going to murder us because they don’t agree with our positions, then it’s probably a good time to leave the relationship,” she said. “When someone is abusing you and then tells you, ‘You can’t leave or I’m going to kill you,’ that doesn’t seem like a healthy relationship.”

She added that with the ability for people to “vote with their feet” making it easier for many to reject the values of governments in places where they might currently reside, Gericke agreed with Gerhard that the move toward greater local autonomy of some sort everywhere is inevitable.

“I think we’re just so caught up in these fear paradigms and in these little boxes that we just look at the world and we’re like ‘this is how it was and this is how it must be’, but I’m like ‘no, what can we do?’” she said.

Read more…

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Blog

Use Your Emotional Responses to Improve

by Carla Gericke
written by Carla Gericke

“Whenever you are about to find fault with someone, ask yourself the following question: What fault of mine most nearly resembles the one I am about to criticize?” ~ Marcus Aurelius

AKA:

People in glass houses should not cast the first stone.

Take the log out of your own eye first.

This is a tough one because it requires you to be aware of your own shortcomings, but also, it’s tough because we often most resent in others that which we recognize as failings in ourselves.

Here’s a hack I’ve learned: When I feel a twinge of envy, I stop and try to identify WHY. Is this something I would like more of in my own life? If yes, what concrete steps can I take to put me on the path to getting it?

If I feel the need to be critical or tear someone down–this is not an instinct I naturally have, having actively tried to reduce these urges in myself because I understand you don’t have to step on others to get where you want to go (unless you want to be part of the club of assholes who step on others)–again, I like to pause and analyze WHY.

There is usually a reason that has very little to do with your nemesis and a lot more to do with YOU.

USE this desire, this emotion, this feeling, not to REACT, but rather to focus your FUTURE PURSUITS.

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