Was looking for something on the Tubes and ran across this Dave Ridley interview at Taproom Tuesday in 2008, soon after we moved to NH . My favorite parts are… too many to mention! D’aaaaw, Younger Me Who Is Still Figuring Stuff Out. You go, Queenie!
Carla Gericke, past president of the Free State Project, joins me for an update from New Hampshire and to discuss some important local issues that affect many communities. She has been at the forefront of a campaign against surveillance cameras, as well as securing the release of a list of bad cops — a list that a major state official is trying to keep suppressed.
Sign the Right-to-Know Laurie’s List petition TODAY!
Follow the Told You So Podcast on Facebook to stay up to date on happenings in the Free State of New Hampshire.
The Free State Project is doing great:
- 24,155 current signers–we are continuing to actively recruit new participants and they are some of our stickiest/most interested–we’ve been holding calling parties, and at one I attended last month, we had 15 volunteers who called more than 500 new signers. We have been fundraising for this separately, and have earmarked and spent $18K for FY19 so far
- 4,392 free staters in NH
- 560 liberty meetups per year
- New movers arriving monthly
- $250M invested in real estate
- 120 companies started
- 45 elected free staters (21 current, working with Freedom Caucus of approx. 60-100, depending on the issue)
Politically, NH is in a weird situation right now, with the flip in 2018 to Democrat in the House and Senate, but still with a Republican Governor. Free Staters have been in the unique situation of furthering libertarian goals, by working with both sides of the aisle on issues we care about: criminal justice reform, legalization of recreational MJ (sadly, tabled by Senate), annulment of misdemeanor drug charges, pushing back on irresponsible Democratic high tax/spend budget, pushing back on attempt to backdoor an income tax masquerading as “family medical leave,” holding the line on business tax cuts, and a huge one for many of us: repealing the death penalty (which passed by ONE vote, phew!).
Our ideas are gaining traction, for example, at least 7 Republican House members said “Taxation is Theft” from the well during session speeches (and only one was a free stater!), and essays like this, “My Turn: Taxation is theft – and here’s why” have appeared in local newspapers. I even got to say “less and less is more when it comes to taxes” and plug the FSP on the BBC recently (listen to The Why Factor “Why is it so hard to get people to pay taxes?” I’m near the start).
I have also been working on new projects which continue to further Liberty in Our Lifetime:
- Government transparency and accountability: I now serve on the board of Right-To-Know NH, a nonpartisan coalition of open government advocates. We are working on an audit to determine what local municipalities charge for copying costs, and we’re pushing a petition urging Governor Sununu to release the secret list of bad NH cops.
- Privacy/surveillance state/”1984 is Not an Instruction Manual”: I’m a petitioner in an ACLU lawsuit filed on Tuesday with 2 other free staters and a 16-term retired Representative to fight the Manchester Police Department’s attempt to put up surveillance cameras downtown. You can watch a WMUR news clip featuring me here, or read about it, here, NHPR, USNews, and Union Leader.
- Leading by example: I’m still 65lbs down, following a Keto lifestyle. I stopped using alcohol in Dec 2017, and never think about it now. I practice Bikram yoga regularly. Hubby and I garden, walk the dog, and are slowly renovating our 1950s atomic ranch. I’m co-host of a weekly local cable access show called ManchTalk TV. At PorcFest, I will be launching my new website and podcast called “Told You So”. I am also doing a self-empowerment/improvement talk at PorcFest: “How I Learned to Stop Faking It and Be a Better Me: How are YOU living your daily life?”
- I will be running for NH Senate again in 2020. Not sure if you followed what happened in my race, but my district swung 12-15% Democrat, but despite this, I went up 2% over my 40% in 2016, which means I can win if I raise my profile enough. I’ll need support for this, but that’s a conversation for another day! Hopefully, in Vegas! 😛
Remember, donating to the Free State Project is your opportunity to support a living libertarian experiment with the potential to change the world. We’re doing it, but right now, we can use a little help! Thank you!
Fond regards and deepest thanks,
Carla
I was honored to be featured on the Tom Woods Show yesterday.
We talked about my NH Senate race, the positive changes I have made in my life, and why I believe District 20 is ready to elect me to office in order to preserve and expand the liberties we find in our great Granite State.
You can also catch a previous show from 2014 about my landmark 1st Amendment 1st Circuit appeals court case and my early life growing up in South Africa here.
Like what you hear? Please donate to my race. Every little bit helps!
Have an event in District 20 you would like me to attend? Email me at carla (at) carla4nhsenate (dot) com.
Looking for an easy way to show support? "Like" my Senate Facebook page.
If you like my positions and don’t live in District 20… tell a friend or family member who does! Word of mouth is a powerful tool.
Thank you for your support! Let’s do this!
We’re ramping up for Liberty Forum, March 5-8, 2015 in Manchester. For the first time, many libertarian think tanks will be in attendance–Cato, Charles Koch Institute, Mercatus, and FEE–a very good sign that shows the FSP is now regarded as a real contender for the future of freedom. I hope you will attend. This would give you an opportunity to meet the community first-hand and see what is transpiring on the ground.
From an organizational standpoint, we are going from strength to strength. Jason Sorens, the founder of the FSP, cofounder of Ethics and Economics Education of New England, and lecturer at Dartmouth College, has rejoined the board, and is now VP. It’s exciting to have him back!
We saw many successes in 2014:
Received 501c3 status, which has allowed us to leverage Amazon Smile and AdWords grant
We expanded the board, and new board members commit to $10K+/year
Approximately 1,200 new signers; 135 new movers (keep in mind no one is obligated to move yet)
18 Free Staters have been elected to the state house, the most so far. It is imperative that we Trigger the Move asap, so that more activists can run and win
Released a new, independently made documentary “101 Reasons Liberty Lives in New Hampshire” (23,000 views) and new “It’s Like This Too” mover profiles on the Voices for Liberty Channel
Strong social media growth, averaging 400 new page likes per week, with almost at 70,000 on Facebook, and almost 62,000 followers on Twitter
Media coverage in The Economist, NYT, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Reason, etc.
Our goal for 2015-2016 is two-fold:
- Garner remaining signers (3,666 as of this writing) and Trigger the Move
- Reach out to all past participants and encourage them to move/find signers
Take a look at the draft Strategic Plan I sent the board, which outlines our mission, vision, target markets, current marketing efforts, and identifies new ones. Also attached is a Participant Statistics Monthly Performance Report for November 2014. You’ll note a few things: 1. Our biggest spikes in signers comes from mainstream media coverage (e.g. the jury nullification case, the Concord BEARCAT incident, and when a sitting Democrat said Free Staters are the single biggest threat to the state of NH); 2. the second largest spikes are around our FSP hosted events, Liberty Forum and PorcFest; and 3. the current Trigger the Move date is early 2018. We want to accelerate this. With your support, we can. If we double our recruitment rate in 2015, we will Trigger the Move in early 2016.
Our current signer acquisition rate is $100 (this increased from the historic $81 due to my transitioning into a full-time, paid position). If we are to Trigger the Move in 2016, we need to raise $366,600 as soon as possible. We are working on a capital campaign which will launch in Q1 2015, where we are asking select donors to contribute at the $25,000-$50,000 level.
Would you be willing to support 10% of this goal, $36,600? Your tax-exempt donation would directly support the following projects:
1) A mailing to all signers promoting the move and promoting obtaining new signers (est. cost: $16,000). We are sending a test mailer invitation to Liberty Forum to 3,125 signers in the identified target areas. This test mailing will provide data to help us determine how to proceed with the larger mailing list.
2) The balance will spent on online signer acquisition through Facebook, Twitter, and online advertising networks, employing SEO metrics to keep us on target and provide reporting data.
The Free State Project has the leadership, the skills, and the commitment to make your contribution count. We stand at the cusp of a historic breakthrough. We have already seen the benefits of concentrating liberty activists in one geographic area. Help us reach the finish line!
Yours in peace and liberty,
Carla
Life in NH is never dull! Look at this turnout for the injunction hearing in the matter of NHDoE vs. Town of Croydon school board.
Cliff-ish Notes:
The state is arguing that *it* needs an injunction to immediately remove 4 kids who were placed in a Montessori school otherwise *the state* will suffer irreparable harm. Notwithstanding the fact that the children are FLOURISHING at their new school, and despite the fact that the taxpayers of Croydon are actually saving $3,000 per kid.
Said the AG’s office: “Public students with public funds need to be in public schools. Those children don’t belong there [at Montessori]!” The state lawyer asked for an injunction, saying that parents can either pay privately, out of pocket for their children to go to Montessori (double taxed jeopardy, anyone?) or the court must order the kids back to the Newport public school IN THE MIDDLE OF THE SCHOOL YEAR.
This, argued with a statist-straight-tist face after the DoE KNEW about the issue in JUNE DURING THE HOLIDAYS and after this is the second year in which this approach has been taken for kids who need it.
In a June letter to the DoE, the Croydon attorney wrote: “This practice [sending kids to the best school for them] will continue,” and yet, the AG and the DoE did NOTHING…
…Until the school year started to… sue and disrupt perfectly happy kids lives… I smell… let me be gracious… incompetence?
The Croydon attorney, who is a former NH Supreme Court judge, more rationally argued–after saying, “We told them in June, so BRING IT ON, BABY!” (best line of the day)–that allowing the children to go to a school better suited to their needs was better. *Doh.* He went on to say: “The bill is already paid until February 2016. The parents want their kids there. The school board wants the kids there. The kids WANT TO BE there. They are paying less money for a better education.”
BUT NOOOOOOO… the state in all its wisdom wants to kids back in their pre-approved reeducation camp. Must not allow this flight, this, shall we say, brain drain to begin, otherwise, oh, lordy mama, everyone might want to… choose what is best for them, and we can’t have that now, can we???
My money is on the DoE’s request for injunctive relief not being granted, mostly because the state dillydallied and didn’t file the motion during the vacay. If that’s the case, 1-0 for Croydon and school choice. Either way, a hearing will be set on the merits of the case, and this too should be interesting. The AGs office, IMO, overplayed its hand in trying for injunctive relief. But, then, this is the nature of statism: you belong to us. They also underestimated the courageous people who believe in what is best for the individual person.
If the court does the right thing–the order about the injunctive relief will come out in the next 48 hours–then the children can at least see out the current school year at their CHOSEN, CHEAPER school.
This case can have a monumental impact on school choice in NH, where, btw, several other schools already send their kids to non-public schools, like Pinkerton and schools in Vermont. Stay tuned for details as they unfold.
Hope to see you at Freedom Fest in July! Wanted to share a quick update about what we’re working on. We are now almost 85% towards our goal, and 1,755 signers have moved, with more arriving weekly. In the “good problem category,” it’s getting hard to keep apace with all the move-in parties!
Liberty Forum was a great success. We had a record number of attendees (530+), and for the first time, all the D.C. libertarian think tanks were represented. Relocating the conference to a larger venue in Manchester was the right decision, and gives us room to grow and to showcase all that downtown Manchester has to offer. Next year’s event is slated for February 18-21, 2016. I hope you will attend.
PorcFest is coming up in a few weeks. FSP board member, Matt Philips and his partner Kristin Wetzel are the main organizers this year. In addition to the usual suspects, we have added a few fresh names to the mix, including Lenore Skenazy, founder of the Free Range Kids movement, Philip Stinson, a professor who runs the largest known police misconduct database in the U.S., and investigative reporter and author of Family of Secrets about the Bush dynasty, Russ Baker. We are expecting another great turnout, and several media outlets, including CNN, Bloomberg, The New York Times, and Maxim will be covering the event.
We recently had a film crew out from L.A. to interview Free Staters for an upcoming documentary called “Freedom in America.” I hope this will help bring the message of Liberty in Our Lifetime to a new audience. We have also been getting a steady flow of national and international media interest in the Free State Project.
We launched a new pledge landing page, and have actively been using our Google AdWords grant. This new page, with a shortened form and condensed pitch, is seeing dramatic early results. Interestingly, the AdWords campaign that is getting the most traction is related to Liberland. I did a Google trends comparison between the FSP and Liberland, and it’s hard not to feel a little frustrated–short of declaring Roger’s Campground a sovereign nation during PorcFest–there simply is no way to replicate this sort of global media attention. But, as they say, slow and steady wins the race, and we are winning.
The most satisfying part of the Free State Project is seeing how pro-freedom successes translate into human flourishing. From the burgeoning New Hampshire nanobrew market where there are now 3 highly successful Free Stater owned breweries (Able Ebenezer, Eagle Brewing, and Area 23) to something as seemingly trivial as being invited to a panel discussion about police militarization with the Department of Homeland Security at UNH, and having students thank me afterwards for opening their eyes.
Take education. As you know, Patrick Byrne, who spoke at Liberty Forum, is a passionate advocate for school choice. He was thrilled to learn how much progress has been made on this front in New Hampshire, including a recent case from the town of Croydon where Jody Underwood (an FSP board member) is chair of the school board and has allowed students to choose private and religious schools instead of being tied to only one public choice. Of course, the NH Department of Education is pushing back, but it looks like more schools are set to follow suit.
Or take simply living a principled life in liberty. This past weekend, I attended a joint baby shower for a dozen expecting couples in Portsmouth. Amongst those present were several entrepreneurs, a past PorcFest organizer, a former FSP newsletter editor, the founder of the FreeCoast Festival (started last year with a focus on radical entrepreneurship), and the founder of the innovation hub, The Praxium, where the event was held. These folks are not the ones you typically hear about in the news, but they are the ones who are buying houses, starting families and businesses, writing LTEs, and changing their neighbors’ views by living productive lives extolling the virtues of voluntary relationships.
This liberty revival in New Hampshire is the direct result of the Free State Project. We are the chicken and the egg. All the exciting things originating from here–from Jason Soren’s Ethics and Economics Education of New England project, to Bitcoin businesses, to civil disobedience aimed at blocking the police state–are because we are actively bringing dedicated, passionate pro-freedom people to the “Live Free or Die” state.
With the first-in-the-nation presidential primary coming up next year, there is an opportunity to aggressively market and inspire more movers before next year’s Liberty Forum.
To increase our outreach, we now have a $25,000 challenge grant–every dollar up to $25,000 donated will be matched 1:1 through the rest of 2015 by one of our board members, Séamas Ó Scalaidhe, who recently bought a home in Wolfeboro and now spends 50% of his time here. I’m also excited to let you know Howard Kaloogian, a fundraiser at Hillsdale College, recently moved with his wife to Weare, and he will be working with me on some upcoming fundraising projects.
In the meanwhile, there are a few projects for which I am seeking immediate funding:
- I negotiated a discounted Gold Sponsorship for Freedom Fest, which includes 8 tickets. In additional to several board members who will be attending this year, I would like to bring out a team of our best recruiters and ambassadors. We need to cover their airfare, accommodation, and meals, in additional to the sponsorship fee. ($12,000)
- Radio ad buys on the Howie Carr Show, a daily 4-hour peak time syndicated talk radio show. The show airs across New England, and is our perfect target market. ($150 per 60 seconds, blocks of 20, test of 40 blocks = $6,000)
- Keynote speaker for Liberty Forum 2016. Based on more than 150 responses to our Liberty Forum 2015 survey, attendees are interested in interactive workshops and learning more about NH-based freedom projects. For next year, I would like to contract with one nationally recognized speaker to help drive ticket sales, and then focus volunteer efforts on creating a program showcasing New Hampshire and the exciting projects Free Staters are working on. (Up to $20,000)
- Trigger the Move marketing and merchandise. Design and distribute a new tri-fold and follow up marketing focussed on encouraging signers to move asap. This will be sent in stages: new landing page signers, past 5,000 signers for which we have good data (when I came on board), and then the cleaned data from the legacy signers. ($20,000 for first stages)
“Many Paths to Liberty” was in action in New Hampshire yesterday. I’m pleased to let you know that 52 free- and pre-staters won their primary races: 5 for NH senate; and in the house: 5 democrats; 42 republicans. Other pro-liberty locals ran and won too.
Whenever it is election season, we, as a big tent community, invariably have the debate about what the best way is to achieve more liberty. Is voting immoral? Will we become them? Fortunately, most free staters now see the value of trying it all–whether running for office, or creating new ventures, or starting private charities. The beauty of this approach is every individual free stater can follow his or her own passions, and exert their fullest practical efforts as they see fit.
Where else do you see self-declared anarchists running for office? Free Talk Live’s Ian Freeman, who ran against Hassan on the D-side, got 4% of the vote. He says: “My goal for the campaign was not to get votes. My goal was to reach people with the ideas of freedom. Mission accomplished, for a measly $102.50. That money bought a decent amount of media coverage. Votes are not an indicator of people you have reached. They could be protest votes against the other candidate.”
The political porcupines did an amazing job. Merav Yaakov (see a profile about her in the enclosed Free Stater) and others affiliated with the New Hampshire Liberty Alliance proactively recruited pro-liberty candidates in districts where they stood the best chance of getting elected. They have be holding planning and training meetings for more than a year. They devised a “Liberty Ballot,” an easy to use cheat-sheet to print and take to the ballot box. Because so many volunteers from 2012 are themselves running this time, our biggest challenge for the primary was finding enough people to support them. I confess, I am sunburnt after spending a long day in the sun holding signs for my friends at polls in several different towns.
We need to Trigger the Move! Getting more movers in-state is crucial–especially as we look to 2016, and beyond. With the two year residency requirement here in order to run as a representative, most new movers won’t be eligible to run until 2018, but they will be able to support those who have been elected and those who will run in 2016, learning the ropes of a successful campaign firsthand.
After another record-breaking PorcFest, the board held a summit in early August. In addition to working on an updated strategic plan, we made Aaron Day–whom you know from The Atlas Society–chairman of the board, and appointed two new board members: serial entrepreneur Matt Philips (he started and sold Right Media to Yahoo), and FSP founder, Jason Sorens. They will be spearheading the FSP Ambassador Program, focussing on two things: 1. training more out-of-state volunteers to attend more outreach events and conferences to promote the FSP; and, 2. finding more in-state “Friends of the FSP.”
We launched our first issue-specific landing page last week, starting with Bitcoin. Thanks to a generous anonymous BTC donation, Blockchain is running a tongue-in-cheek, cowboy-themed “Get Out of Doge” banner ad that redirects to the FSP/BTC landing page which extols the rich connections between free staters and the alt-currency community. In the first week, we received 268 click-throughs, and the sign-up rate accelerated. Next, we will be doing a gun rights page, followed by marijuana legalization.
Based on an analysis of where signers are coming from, I have identified the surrounding New England states as the best bang-for-the-recruiting-buck. Focusing within this region also avoids having to convince the “but it’s too cold” naysayers. We are starting to buy libertarian lists from these states, and would like to start advertising on local conservative radio stations, or perhaps even local NPR stations (e.g. “Marketplace, brought to you by the Free State Project, occupying New Hampshire for more freedom since 2003”).
I am currently in talks with Morgan Spurlock’s Warrior Poets production company. They are working on a documentary about the loss of freedom in America. I keep trying to convince them to do a feature length movie solely about the FSP. This is something that eventually will need to be made, especially as Libertopia is now a few years old. I’m also working with a new mover filmmaker to shoot mini-documentaries featuring porcupines in their natural habitat, a “Day in the Life” of FSP movers. Upcoming after the November election is the independently made feature-length film “101 Reasons,” aimed at attracting disillusioned voters from across the country.
One project I am particularly excited about is reaching out to all our past signers. It’s been too long! The goal is threefold: 1. Reconnect and reinvigorate past signers to encourage them to start planning their moves; 2. Encourage them to seek out more signers; and, 3. At a later date, to fundraise. In order to do this, we have to clean our data, prepare an email campaign and a physical mailer, follow up with phone calls, and follow up with a second mailer. We are budgeting $25,000, excluding my salary. I spoke to Michael about this in Vegas, and he mentioned this may be something you might be interested in underwriting.
Notable recent FSP signers include Bruce Fenton, founder of the Bitcoin Association, who said: “I signed up with the Free State Project because I want to be the change I want to see in the world.” Lyn Ulbricht, mother of the alleged founder of Silk Road, spoke at PorcFest and signed there. She has become a feisty freedom fighter for her freemarketeer son’s rights. She and I are both hopeful that Ross will be out of jail in time to attend next year’s Liberty Forum.
Liberty Forum is slated for March 5-8, 2015 in downtown Manchester. I would like to invite you to attend. If you are interested, it would be wonderful if you did a talk on self-management. As we attract more movers, many are post-college students eager to start their own businesses. Sharing your knowledge and experience would be invaluable.
We have surpassed 16,000 signers. We’re more than 80% of the way to 20,000, and more than 10% of signers have moved. Now that we have 501c3 status, a two-and-a-half year uphill battle we finally won, we are stepping up our fundraising efforts in order to increase our marketing efforts. We know the FSP is a winning, proven strategy. What we need now is to get the word out to every libertarian in the North-East.
Last night, at the post-primary party at the Manchester activist center, I was exhilarated by the conversations I overheard. “What I love most about moving to New Hampshire is there’s real hope here!” “Getting 50+ pro-liberty candidates through the primary would be unheard of anywhere else.” “I can’t believe I won! Makes all of those days knocking on doors feel worthwhile.” “I love this community! Instead of sitting around whining, people here DO things.” “First, New Hampshire, then the world!”
Running for office is one strategy in the arsenal of achieving Liberty in Our Lifetime. Your past donations have enabled me to throw myself headlong into this grand adventure. I am eternally grateful for your support. I will be sending out a comprehensive 2015-2016 strategic plan and budget to our financial supporters soon. In the meanwhile, I hope you will consider continuing to support me now as I attack the next round of projects to Trigger the Move.
Yours in peace and liberty,
Carla Gericke
President, Free State Project