Have the lunatics taken over the asylum? What happens when you cater to the lowest common denominator? Is this simply the result of socialism? Obvi, Carla has some things to say this week! Tammy leads us through the NHLA endorsed Manchester candidates, we talk Trump and Elon, and more!
Carla recaps the history of the Assange prosecution, and Tammy fills us in about who is running in Manchester.
What is the point of communication? Well, either you use words to talk to get what you want (persuasion = good), or you use force to take it (coercion = bad). As a society, the government has compromised our ability to speak clearly to each other by changing the meaning of words online real-time. This is what Orwell warned us about. Also, Carla gets super-excited about her first muskrat sighting!
Nashua refuses to fly the Pine Tree flag, Manchester recognizes Friends of the Piscataquag River Park and then things go downhill fast, kids are too coddled, and who is running for what?
What is the fate of free staters who were charged with money laundering using cryptocurrency? The FBI and US Attorney’s office explain their investigation of the case and two of those dubbed “The Crypto Six” share their perspectives from prison.
The US government sows fear. Its intelligence agencies sow paranoia. Politicians exploit both to stay in office. The Deep State feeds off this dark energy to grow.
Manufactured fear is running–and ruining–the world.
One prevailing geopolitical theory is “everyone is blackmailing someone”.
I have questions:
1. What are ppl doing in their everyday lives that is so grossly heinous? Might want to reflect on that and reform your ways?
2. With the advent of “deep fakes” the “blackmail model” of statecraft will soon be rendered obsolete, or at least lose much of its power to plausible deniability, which is where shady players are going to make their AI-generated bread & butter.
If “perception is reality” but we have evolved to a point where you cannot “believe your own eyes,” what have we wrought?
Living through the past few years persuaded me this confusion is not accidental.
Control Freaks are turning our streets and public spaces into insane asylums by making up shit on the internet and scaring people into literal MINDLESSNESS. Brain-dead zombies unable to discern truth from bullshit.
Where do we go from here?
Get HEALTHY so YOU can control your own mind!
Control mind > Mind control
If you catch this week’s Manch Talk, you’ll hear me discuss the latest developments regarding Right-to-Know in New Hampshire. Long story short, the NH AG’s office finally, FINALLY released the new RTK memo, nine years after the last one in 2015.
[PDF]
Since last week was Sunshine Week, when we typically celebrate or highlight national open government efforts, and as a RTKNH board member, I submitted an op-ed to the Union Leader, which got pulled last minute because the memo was released. I’ll take it! Stay tuned for an in-depth delve into the 158-page document, coming soon!
Here was the op-ed that was NOT published:
Dear Editor,
It is Sunshine Week, our annual reminder that if we don’t want more government corruption, we must demand transparency. What is hidden in government is what is rotten in government, and with distrust in government institutions at an all-time high, the need for open government has never been more critical.
I serve on the board of Right-to-Know NH, a statewide, nonpartisan group of open government advocates. We are from different walks in life, different political parties, religions, and backgrounds, but what unites us is the understanding that without open, transparent, accessible, and accountable government, local politics won’t work.
And, sadly, the trend in New Hampshire suddenly seems to be towards darkness, not light. For example: An insidious bill, HB 1002, would introduce a use fee for RTK requests, thereby introducing a new tax. Imagine the impact this would have on the press’ ability to investigate stories, or the chilling effect due to costs that this will have on open government activists.
Over the past few years, open government advocates have seen some successes. The RTK Ombudsman office finally opened last year, but already suffers from too complex rules, and a backlog. Several NH Supreme Court cases were found in favor of more open government. The Fenniman case was even overturned after almost three decades, significantly broadening our right to view government employees’ personnel files.
And yet, in the past decade, the government has also managed to seal the names of law enforcement officers who should have appeared on the Laurie’s List, they have arrested Right-to-Know activists, they have spent millions of your tax dollars fighting open government requests, and the NH Municipal Association has lobbied against common sense legislation to help broaden the press and Granite Staters’ Right-to-Know.
Last year during Sunshine Week, I implored the AG’s Office to update the 2015 Right-to-Know memorandum. We have now formally requested this update at least 5 times in writing, to no avail. The failure by the AG to act, especially when such failure shrouds in secrecy the incredible gains that have been made in favor of more open government, breeds suspicion.
In the words of Justice Louis Brandeis, “Sunlight is said to be the best of disinfectants.” Let us, therefore, redouble our efforts to shine a light on the inner workings of our local government. It starts with that updated memo. To the NH Attorney General’s Office: Stop undermining public trust.
Sincerely,
Carla Gericke
Carla lives in West Manchester, and serves on the board of Right-to-Know NH. She is an outspoken critic of big government.
Above is what Edward Snowden saw at Liberty Forum 2016. (Get your tix to Liberty Forum 2024 with Tulsi Gabbard today!)
Right after he saw us all put up masks of his face to drive home the point, “We are all Edward Snowden now.” I remember during the sound check having to warn him about the masks because I thought it might be strange to be confronted by such a visual unexpectedly. He was embarrassed, flattered, and gracious.
Still think the whole Snowden package–from getting him to speak, to getting the announcement that he was speaking on the front page of hundreds of newspapers worldwide, to the masks, to the incredible interview with Nick Gillespie of REASON–was one of our coolest “Only in the Free State” moments!
Thanks to everyone who helped make it happen. Feel free to add your recollections too.
***
I ran across this post that Liberty Forum Producer Angela Harris made soon after the 2016 event:
WOW, what a weekend! If you had told me a year ago that Emmett and I would be organizing the next Liberty Forum, and that not only would we have Edward Snowden as our keynote speaker, but that we would have already Triggered the Move weeks before, I would have told you were crazy – optimistic and cute, but crazy. Now my head is reeling from the reality of it all – I need a pinch! Or a drink! (Ask me about my Emergency Nip if we get a chance –this may become an essential part of my packing routine in the future.)
I kept watch over the course of the four days, and almost everywhere I turned, I saw smiling faces and heard excited voices – people greeting old friends, enrapt in conversations in the corridors, laughing together as they headed off to the next gathering. It was truly humbling and invigorating to play host to such a diverse and passionate group of people.
An event the size and scope of Liberty Forum does not come together overnight, and it does not happen at the whim of one, or even two, people – it takes a small army of dedicated volunteers to pull it off and make it look effortless and seamless, and each of our volunteers devoted untold amounts of time, talent, and treasure to make Liberty Forum 2016 one for the record books. My sincere, heartfelt thanks go out to everyone on the entire team, especially:
Amy Day for pulling together a million threads to make one cohesive, impressive schedule – your talents amaze me and I thank you for dealing with my billion-and-one emails every day;
Sandy Pierre for wrangling libertarian cats into speaking slots and ensuring they all had the information they needed;
Kyle Laura Bennett for stocking and managing a kick-ass VIP suite – it truly felt like home away from home (but much nicer!);
Chip Spangler for running back and forth between four salons to keep the A/V machine humming so that everyone could see and hear what was going on;
Liam Enael for sending the signal to the universe, designing and printing the printed matter, and pulling my bacon out of the fire more than once;
Samantha Leane for keeping the Registration table running smoothly and making sure everyone got where they needed to go – oh, and for having an amazing collection of pretty paperclips;
Hershel Nunez for reaching out to and wrangling not 10, not 20, but 40+ exhibitors – you are a gracious host and have great vision;
Nicholas Buroker for not breaking the Internet during the Snowden talk; 😉
Carolyn Albert for going above and beyond the call of duty to make sure speakers got here and home again, and had lodging in between;
Rachel Goldsmith for liaising with our sponsors and making sure their needs were all met;
Jessica Love for envisioning and creating Porc Family Connection, giving parents a place to take their kids and where they could have fun while interacting with other parents – I don’t think there is any other conference in the world that has anything close;
Christine Mizer Butler for outstanding creative vision for the Liberty in Action Awards dinner – you and your team knocked it out of the park!;
Andre Rosa for a fabulously funny story and spectacular performance – what a show!;
JJ Epic for filming Snowden’s talk and the Liberty in Action Awards – wonderful eye, beautiful work!;
Jon Lts for putting on a hilarious comedy show to start the weekend off on the right foot;
Theresa Eudaimonia for keeping our relationship with the hotel on good footing and other various and sundry important deeds of helpfulness throughout the weekend;
Tara.טארה פאוול for deescalating situations (and de-icky-fying situations) like a PRO!;
Chris Lopez for being an amazing ambassador for Manchester by arranging ten spectacular off-site tours for the weekend;
Glenn Bailey for always being ready with some muscle when needed;
Dawn Lincoln for keeping the salons running smoothly and ensuring our speakers and attendees had what they needed for the talks;
Kari DePhillips and Brinck Slattery for being the bestest PR team on the planet;
Tennyson McCalla for being everywhere, tirelessly taking photos of everyone and everything, and putting up with my self-critical eye;
Jeremy Harris for being an awesome Man Friday and happily filling in where needed;
and last, but by no means least, Carla Gericke and Matt Philips for being an outstanding resource for all things Organizer, and for landing some pretty phenomenal speakers!
My deepest gratitude to all! And this is only the tip of the iceberg; many of these team members had a team of their own, each and every one of them working to ensure that Liberty Forum 2016 went off without a hitch, that each attendee had an enjoyable time, and that folks would want to come back for Liberty Forum 2017. I would say they were totally successful! I am exceptionally proud to have worked with this outstanding group of folks; they are the reason Liberty Forum happened at all. Please give them a pat on the back if you see them. 😃 ❤
This week, Manch Talk is in the new studio and bugs are still being sorted. We cover the moves towards more secretive government and censorship, with Carla uncovering some startling revelations from Grok on X, including “#FreeAssange” being banned.
I will upload the Grok screen grabs here later.
WATCH THE VIDEO BELOW ABOUT THE MOST INSIDIOUS NH HOUSE BILL BEING HEARD TOMORROW!!!
They’re creating a tax for open record requests. We HAVE TO KILL HB 1002!!!
Here’s the documents created by Right-to-Know NH regarding HB 1002. HUGE SHOUT OUT to Katherine Kokko of Right-to-Know NH for the incredible work she did on this issue, including the Q&A below. Right-to-Know NH is a nonpartisan group working together to keep NH government open, transparent, and ACCOUNTABLE to the people.
HB1002: Frequently Asked Questions
How does HB1002 impact the public’s Right to Know?
HB1002 imposes labor, retrieval, and redaction costs on requestors under RSA Chapter 91-A (NH’s “Right to Know” Law). HB1002 constrains a citizens’ right to know to what can be learned in 10 hours or less in a 30-day period, while charging for additional details within that time period.
A ten hour limit on requests sounds reasonable on paper. Why is this a problem?
The limit hampers the public’s ability to understand and scrutinize complex government operations thoroughly, setting conditions for opacity in government. HB1002 targets, and discourages members of the public from performing the public service of assuring transparency in government, jeopardizing public access and government transparency in New Hampshire. There are other ways to address the problem of “burdensome requests” as presented to the House (See inside).
What else is wrong with HB1002?
By defining the reasonableness of a request as a time limit, HB1002 contravenes the intent of the RTK Law repeatedly affirmed by the courts – to define reasonableness of a request in a manner that provides the greatest information, consistent with statutory and constitutional objectives.
Furthermore, high labor estimates for responding to a request are likely to be issued due to issues like poor record retention practices or the use of overzealous redactions. Those are the responsibility of the public body, not the fault of the requestor.
Why is it important for the public to have unfettered access to public information under NH’s Right to Know law?
NH’s law is entirely and uniquely reliant on private action by individuals for enforcement, giving the public a statutory role in ensuring transparency in NH. There is no oversight body to ensure that NH’s Right-to-Know law is enforced.
Any investigation, even by the RTK Ombudsman, must be instigated by private action. HB1002 erects financial barriers to the public and perversely incentivizes public bodies to increase their estimated labor in responding to RTK requests.
This bill appears to have lot of support from local communities, public bodies and their lobbyists. Who is opposing this bill?
Because this bill would severely harm government accountability and transparency in New Hampshire, it is opposed by a broad Coalition of stakeholders, including the Right-to-Know NH, the ACLU-NH, the New England First Amendment Coalition, the N.H. Press Association, the N.H. Union Leader, the N.H. Bulletin and Americans for Prosperity.
WHY VOTE NO
ON HB1002?
It sounds like “burdensome requests” are a big problem for public bodies/communities? Does RTKNH agree?
The bill’s sponsor Katelyn Kuttab (R-Windham), the NH Municipal Association and Right to Know NH have all confirmed that the large, problematic requests at issue are infrequent. In testimony, examples of “burdensome requests” were anecdotal and not placed in context. Most labor-intensive RTK requests come from commercial entities who are likely willing to pay.
By contrast, the average citizen will likely abandon their RTK request when faced with potential fees for a public interest inquiry, serving no public good. The impact on the average citizen request will be far more profound than the impact on burdensome commercial requests.
If this bill is NOT passed, how will public bodies/communities deal with these “burdensome requests”?
HB1002 addresses a perceived issue that is already addressed by the Right to Know law and existing State and Federal case law. HB1002 disincentivizes public bodies from understanding the existing parameters of the RTK law and the court’s definitions of “reasonableness”… at the public’s expense.
Finally, public bodies always have the option of communicating with the requestor to try and clarify the scope of the request. Many do not do this and choose a legalistic approach instead.
Are there other ways to address these “burdensome requests?”
Yes. Public bodies, including elected officials, should be trained on Right to Know. There is no training requirement. Relying on legal counsel or trying to base decisions on in-house interpretations – instead of training public employees on the front lines – exacerbates issues. When a community spends an inordinate amount of time on Right to Know requests, it is often due to this lack of training and/or reliance on overly legalistic responses.
• What else could be done to assist public bodies?
Multiple stakeholders have asked the AG’s Office to update its 2015 Memorandum on NH’s Right to Know Law so that public bodies can appropriately apply the many precedent-setting decisions made since 2015. The AG’s Office has not done so (claiming that it is in process) while failing to provide a timeline for completion. Meanwhile, it has endorsed HB1002 and specifically the proposed fee structure. This is an unacceptable abdication of its own role in assuring the integrity of the application of the Right-to-Know law.
• The House Judiciary Committee voted this bill OTPA. Why should I disagree with their recommendation?
With only 2 business days between the hearing and Executive Session, the House Judiciary Committee voted HB1002 OTPA 12-8 along evenly split party lines (6D/6R to 4D/4R), without:
(i) Investigating examples, or the origin and root causes of, burdensome requests that are being cited anecdotally to justify this bill
(ii) Considering more targeted proposals to limit excessive requests.
(iii) Investigating the role that RTK training and public guidance (including from the NH Attorney General’s office) could have in resolving this issue.
• How will this bill impact the “average” RTK request?
HB1002 reinforces the use of problematic practices like unnecessary redactions, use of outside contracted support staff and “data dumps” of large volumes of unnecessary documents by allowing billing for such labor. It will also have a “chilling effect” on anything but the most simple request, discouraging the public from researching and understanding issues of interest because they are “too complicated” to warrant paying for the public interest.
Developed and Funded by Committed NH Citizen-Advocates through Right-to-Know NH
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