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In 2001, Jason Sorens penned his first Free State Project Manifesto. He stated the goals of the project:
What I propose is a Free State Project, in which freedom-minded people of all stripes (libertarians, anarcho-capitalists, pacifists, even people who just call themselves liberals or conservatives - the only requirement is that you pledge that you will work to reducing government to the minimal functions of protecting life, liberty, and property), establish residence in a small state and take over the state government.
And then:
Once we've taken over the state government, we can slash state and local budgets, which make up a sizeable proportion of the tax and regulatory burden we face every day. Furthermore, we can eliminate substantial federal interference by refusing to take highway funds and the strings attached to them. Once we've accomplished these things, we can bargain with the national government over reducing the role of the national government in our state. We can use the threat of secession as leverage to do this.
Shortly thereafter, the FSP voted, and chose NH as the target of their hostile takeover. Then Craig Benson (He Who Shall Not Be Named By the GOP) invited them to move in and take over. One more thing to thank Voldemort Benson for.
"The Top Ten Reasons The Mafia Is Better Than The State"
That's the title of a rant written by Emily Sandblade, co-winner of the Manchester primary yesterday for Ward 11 alderman. She's a Free State Project immigrant from Washington State.
Here's a picture of her burning a Federal Reserve Note - I guess she wants to privatize the Treasury. She's taking campaign contributions in gold or chickens.
My latest op-ed, in today's edition of the Conway Daily Sun newspaper:
The NH Dept. of Transportation (DOT) announced this week that due to cuts budget cuts, they are going to cut back on plowing some roads between the hours of 9pm and 4am, and allow the snow to accumulate to between 5-7 inches before sending some crews out to plow. DOT spokesman Bill Boynton pointed out that the legislature cut the DOT budget by 11.5 percent. They lost 42 employees. The budget for sand and salt was cut 25 percent.
This story sparked a huge outcry, and one of the loudest voices of outrage came from Rep. Gene Chandler, who called the DOT plan "unacceptable." If it weren't so tragic, this kind of magical thinking would be hilarious. When you cut revenue and spending, there will be consequences. Apparently he thought that those consequences would happen in some other guy's district.
(I should have just front paged this. - promoted by susanthe)
As most of you know, there's a special election coming up in Strafford County District 3, to fill the NH House seat vacated by Martin "send 'em to Siberia" Harty's resignation. The election is on August 9. Democrat Bob Perry will be facing challenger Honey Puterbaugh, a Republican and member of the Free State Project.
Bob Perry has represented this district in the past, and has a reputation for not only being fair, but for being a tireless worker for the voters of his district. We don't know much about Honey Puterbaugh, other than the fact that we can count on her to help advance the extremist O'Brien agenda, an agenda that the FSP has helped to shape, along with the Tea Party, and the John Birch Society.
If you know voters in Strafford 3, please tell them to get out and vote for Bob Perry on August 9. If you know any undecideds, keep reading:
Many NH voters know nothing about the Free State project, or their stated goal of moving to NH to take over our state government. For those voters who don't know much about this, the good folks of the Strafford County Dems Messaging Project have created a helpful website: Fact Check Honey
Check it out, and pass it on.
Voters in Strafford, Barrington, Farmington, Middleton, New Durham, and Milton head to the polls on August 9 for the special election to fill the state House seat vacated by Martin Harty. Democrat Bob Perry, a two-term former state Representative, is facing Republican Honey Puterbaugh, who moved to New Hampshire with the Free State Project.
The choice is clear. Voters in this district -- and the rest of the state -- overwhelmingly oppose the stated goals of the Free State Project to take over the state government, slash state and local budgets, and eliminate federal "interference."
But Puterbaugh doesn't mention her association with the Free State Project on her web site or campaign literature. Bob needs your help to get the message out and let voters know what's at stake. Please help Bob spread the word by donating to his campaign. And if you can help the campaign by stuffing envelopes or knocking on doors, please plan to lend a hand.
(Debate quizzers: ask Republican Presidential candidates about secession. - promoted by elwood)
From an email:
MEDIA ADVISORY
Josiah Bartlett Center and Mercatus Center Hold Briefing on "Freedom in the 50 States" Ranking NH Most Free State
Monday June 27, 10:00 a.m.
Legislative Office Building Room 210
The Josiah Bartlett Center will hold a briefing with Profs. Jason Sorens and William Ruger, authors of the Mercatus Center study "Freedom in the Fifty States" which ranked New Hampshire as the most free state in the country on Monday at 10:00 in the Legislative Office Building...
Jason Sorens, employed by a public university funded in part by the taxpayers of New York state, is the founding father of the Free State Project. As he himself wrote:
Mulling over a draft LTE about the national politics of failure this morning over the first cup of coffee and thinking about living in a state that has one of the highest per capita income levels in the country, it hit me. If your goal is to shrink government down to what you think you can get by with (which I doubt they would care much for if they actually got it!), then you have to convince people that we are broke here in NH.
What is the GOPP? It's my conception of the new Republican Party in NH, and that is the result of a chain of thinking that occupied my mind yesterday evening, after we were interacting with our own representative from the sandbox brigade. So follow me below, patiently.
This is a quick, rough outline - inspired by elwood's "New Voices Week" - of why I feel comfortable in the Democratic party.
As I grow older I discover more and more that nothing defines us like our priorities.
Two college-aged students may have the same long-term ambitions, but one stays home and studies all night while the other parties. In this instance, speaking to them of their "ideal" (long-term goal) says nothing about them, because the context in which they exist demands that they prioritize - which means that they must sacrifice some goals for others (trade-off, compromise, etc.). Prioritizing, thus, can lead two individuals with similar ambitions in utterly opposite directions depending upon their preferences. Discovering an individuals priorities is more indicative of their political position than their ideals, since priorities speak of context, and context is specific and precise, whereas ideals are often long-term, vague, and/or not realistic - and who cares where someone stands on issues that are not relevant?
