2004-04-24 Stan Rozenfeld's NH Visit

Stan Rozenfeld's Vist to NH

4/24/04

Regarding Free State Project: The people I met at your party [Meet & Greet at Cal Pratt's in Goffstown, NH] are unique to libertarianism. Instead of sitting back, talking theory and resigning themselves to a generations long battle to change society, your group is committed to living in liberty now! I've found the people I met to be highly social, friendly, very PR oriented, and VERY action-oriented. Other libertarian organizations have a lot to learn!

Regarding New Hampshire: Although the state lacks the polish, the scope and is not as developed as the New Jersey suburbs where I now live, it more than makes up for it by great naturally beauty, a sense of history, the friendliness of its people. There is a sense that everything is down to a normal human scale. I don't feel part of a vast machine there, but as an autonomous individual.

Breathing New Hampshire air really does make one more free!

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2004-04-27 Kat Dillon's NH Visit

NH Visit

by Kat Dillon • 4/27/04

On my recent house-hunting trip to New Hampshire, I became firmly convinced that the Free State Project is going to be successful there. The people I met went out of their way to make me feel welcome and to be helpful in my move.

Before I even left for the trip, I had offers of tours, an offer to take photos of prospective houses, offers to meet up with fellow porcupines. When I got there, I had an offer for work, offers for a place to stay while visiting. It was nearly overwhelming! The caliber of people who I've met from the Free State Project is amazing. They've almost without exception been extremely intelligent, dedicated individuals of high integrity. Cal and Karen Pratt made me feel so welcome that they felt like family by the time I left. I'm so much looking forward to living in a community of such individuals. I can't wait to move!

During my visit, I had the chance to meet with people involved in state government: Bick Bicknell and Don Gorman, State Representatives, Ken Blevens who is running for Senate, John Babiarz who is on the governor's committee to reduce waste in government, and representatives from the Gun Owners of New Hampshire. I was impressed by how much these people seemed willing and eager to work with the Free State Project. They were discussing with us some of the projects they are working on: privatizing the prisons, removal of mandatory permits for concealed carry of handguns among others. We're barely starting to move people in to New Hampshire, yet we're already getting this great network of liberty lovers set up.

The two times I have visited, I've not wanted to come back to Texas. The state is breathtakingly beautiful. As soon as you leave any city, it seemed like I was right there in lush forest. There are lakes and rivers all over. The ocean is spectacular, as it is wont to be. I had a great time driving around, looking at all the old houses. There's so much fascinating architecture. I've lived most of my life on the West coast where the buildings are all basically new, and not built to last 300 years as some of these in NH were.

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2004-05-13 Michael Edelstein's Visit to NH

Michael Edelstein's Visit to NH

In March 2004, Michael Edelstein (currently a Friend of the FSP) and his wife Janice took a trip to visit NH. On his return, Michael shared his experiences through an interview with FSP Member Services Director Tim Condon.

1. Tim Condon: Who are you two?

   Michael Edelstein: We are a libertarian couple who live in San Francisco and Tiburon, CA.

   Ludwig von Mises defined liberty as "freedom from government". Well, in that case, we love liberty!

2. What are the dates and times you traveled to the Free State?

   We traveled to NH by United Airlines red eye on Thursday night 18 March @ 1150 PM. We stayed until Monday morning.

3. Are you married, do you have kids?

   We're married. Janice has two lefty adult daughters. They're bright despite their sheep-like political views.

4. What are your educational backgrounds?

   Janice has some college and I have a Ph.D. in psychology.

5. What do the two of you do for a living?

   I'm a clinical psychologist and author (www.ThreeMinuteTherapy.com). Janice is a retired Tandem systems analyst.

6. Where did you fly out of?

   SFO to ORD to MHT on UA. (-;

7. How did you get around New Hampshire once you got there?

   Hertz.

8. What research did you do about NH before you took off for there?

   I'm somewhat familiar with NH. I lived on the East Coast (Brooklyn, NY) for most of my life before moving to San Francisco. I also joined the LPNH for a few years in the 80s.

   I spent two summers at Camp Birchbrook in the White Mountains when I was in single digits. I visited NH during many autumns for weekends of spectacular colors. For a few years, I was part of an alternate lifestyle group, "Family Tree," which had gatherings in Goffstown. I had a friend whom I visited in Deerfield. And my sister lived in Hanover for many years with her husband, a Dartmouth physics professor.

9. How did you find out about the Free State Project?

   Through my active involvement with the libertarian movement.

10. What did you think when you first heard about the movement?

    It sounded much more practical and reasonable than previous similar libertarian attempts at creating free regions. And the individuals involved seemed visionary, grounded in reality, and smart.

11. How did you get names and phone numbers to contact Porcupines in NH?

    I started emailing people I found on the FSP Message Board and on the LPNH website.

12. Who were the people who were given as contacts?

    Many, including Cal Pratt, Eric Knight, Tony Lekas, and Tim Condon. But most notably, Dave Mincin. I had the most phone and email contact before our trip with Dave. He was a delight to plan with and of tremendous assistance.

13. What was the weather like when you got to NH?

    We hit the winter/spring thaw, so we didn't ice-over immediately as I feared we might.

14. What were your overall impressions of the state?

    Beautiful, serene, civilized.

15. Its geography?

    Scenic, uncrowded.

16. Its people?

    In our travels, just about everyone we spoke with seemed helpful and friendly. Only on rare occasions did we get poor directions or recommendations from the native non-FSPers.

17. Freedom-orientation?

    Nothing was particularly notable, with the exception of some bikers and cyclists without helmets, and no sales tax at EMS.

18. Where did you travel in New Hampshire?

    Manchester, Nashua, Portsmouth, Dover, and environs.

19. Why those places?

    Should I move, I wish to live in or near a city. Should Janice move, she prefers a more rural environment. And we only had three full days, so we could not venture far from Manchester Airport.

20. Thinking of buying a place there?

    This is certainly one option.

21. Who were the people you met with in NH who are involved in the Free State Project?

    About ten FSPers at Friday dinner including Amanda Phillips, John and Rosalie Babiarz, Martin Ekendahl, Tony and Alicia Lekas, Cal and Karen Pratt.

    Also, about twenty FSPers at the Seacoast lunch meeting in Dover including Michelle and Jim Dumas, George Reich, Chris Gronski, Julie and Ron DeCarlo, and Gregg Goss

    After lunch Don Gorman and Dave Mincin took us on a spectacular tour of Southeastern NH.

22. Were you surprised by anything that you saw or experienced in NH?

    Yes. It was much quicker to drive from one town to the next than I had envisioned from judging by the map.

    I did not expect such a wide choice of excellent ethnic restaurants (Thai, Indian, Vietnamese, Mexican).

    The twenty-person turnout at the initial meeting of the Seacoast Porcs was a wonderful surprise – larger than the attendance of some of our monthly San Francisco LP meetings.

23. Has your opinion changed at all about the Free State Project or New Hampshire in any way as a result of visiting?

    The enthusiasm, excitement, and dedication of the new arrivals to the project is a cause for optimism.

24. When are you joining the Free State Project, and if not, why not? When are you moving to the Free State, and if not, why not?

    I'm active with the FSP Northern California Local Group.

    I wish to spend time in the dead winter and summer in NH before deciding. If I survive, it's a good sign!

25. Do you expect to get a part-time place in New Hampshire?

    Currently, no plans for this or any other living arrangement.

26. Where would you be most likely to buy a place in NH?

    Closer to the South.

27. What part of NH did you like the best?

    Just about all we saw, with the exception of downtown Manchester which did not seem all that inviting. Nashua and the surrounding area was quite nice.

28. When are you going back again?

    The June Porcupine Festival.

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2004-05-15 Karl Beisel: "Moving to Manchester – Head 'em up! Move 'em out!"

NH Visit

by Karl Beisel • 5/15/04

I've lived in the Washington, DC area for 17 years, and I'm not much of a traveler. In growing up and living in a city that lives and breathes government, I've become accustomed to its culture. So whenever I travel outside the DC metro area, I find myself refreshed at the differences in attitudes I experience.

No other place I've visited embodies the difference more than New Hampshire. My third visit to the state in a year landed me in Manchester for a long weekend in April. While there, I had the opportunity to meet several fellow Porcupines over lunch (thanks to Cal and Karen Pratt for organizing it!). It was quite rewarding to meet some of the people who I will be working with in the future, on real projects that will one day enhance the liberty for all residents of the state.

Manchester is a neat city. It's much smaller than DC (the DC metro area contains five times as many people as the entire state of New Hampshire). Yet, it still retains a distinct urban feel that I prefer. Among the many contrasts: the famous Yankee industrial ethic is quite noticeable. Houses are well kept throughout the city, and most of the buildings are dedicated to useful production, not government work. It's nice to see actual factories instead of office buildings full of useless bureaucrats. Yeah, this is new to me. I get a real sense of relief just being in New Hampshire.

The most striking thing I noticed about New Hampshire is this – the people are so darn friendly! I've always heard that New Englanders were supposed to be aloof, or even mean. That's certainly not true in New Hampshire, even in its largest city. People smile easily there, and I frequently received friendly hellos from shop clerks and pedestrians in the neighborhood. Even the attractive woman who nearly ran me over with her SUV while I attempted to cross a crosswalk flashed a friendly smile my way.

Oh, and that's the other thing. For all of us single guys, no worries – the women of New Hampshire are not only warm and friendly, they're great-looking too!

Ah, New Hampshire... what a difference.

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2004-05-31 Gerry and Kim LaVallee: Scouting Trip

Scouting Trip

by Gerry & Kim LaVallee • 5/31/04

May 29th & 30th, 2004 our first "scouting trip" to New Hampshire. Strictly to form first impressions.

We arrived in Clairmont around 8:00. First impression was fairly clean small town, loved all the motorcyclist with no helmets. We stopped at a diner called "Daddy Pop's Tumble In". Your basic ex-diner car type place with a lot of folks there, food was okay-not great, service was very slooow as it was every where that we ate the two days that wew were in-state. Looked around downtown area a little while and was impressed with the fact that there was very few empty storefronts.

Perhaps this is a good time to give some of our background to explain any coloring of our perspective. We live in a small upstate NY town that is surrounded by farmland, inexpensive real-estate, property taxes are not too bad. Some businesses are doing great while others are dying (textile & leather). Ours is one of the few conservative areas of NY, conservatives outnumber liberals about 5-3 which is not the norm especially downstate. Lots of rolling foothills to the Adirondack mountains, lots of lakes & ponds. Also, lots of empty storefronts and empty factories, declining real estate values. And of course, state taxes just plain suck the life out of a person.

Back to our trip. We noticed that the towns were a lot cleaner than at home. Generally they seemed like the stereotype "quaint New England town". But, being in the building trade, I noticed not very much new construction, mostly maintenance and remodeling going on.

Next town was Newport, great little downtown area. We bought a newspaper and realized that there is no local paper, only a state wide and one for the upper valley. Culture shock number one, there will be others-stay tuned. Then we stopped at my name-sake, LaValley Building Supply, this is a pretty good sized yard for a small town and found out that a good size chunk of New Hampshire is serviced by them, good job opportunity for me. Still haven't seen a lot for my wife (she's currently a computer systems administrator for a manufacturer).

Culture shock #2, real estate prices? .wow. There are no cheap seats, even building lots/land is higher than we expected. The lesson here is, leave any preconceived notions at home. We had to remind ourselves that this is a by-product of a growing state. Then we drove around more rural settings and realized that another of our preconceived notions was wrong, that the geography would be the same. While similar in respect to lots of trees and mountains, there were hardly any rolling fields, like we are used to. The mountains seemed more "abrupt". Maybe they are younger here? We loved all the covered bridges, by the way.

Culture shock number 3 was when we wanted some lunch, we were near Lebanon by this time and all we could find was national chain type of places, maybe we were just unlucky? Also, Lebanon has one heck of a lot of John Kerry supporters-signs everywhere. We ended up Saturday at our hotel, a little disappointed- watch out for those pre-conceived notions. Then decided that Sunday to include Grafton into our tour. Grafton was a very quiet little place, lots of dirt roads. We have them around home, but they are seasonal only, for farm access, hunting, etc. Here they are a year round access to homes, not a big deal, just an observation. The lack of nearby medical access, bothered my wife. Again this was a first impression trip, nothing in depth-anywhere.

By this time, we were getting a little tired and decided on a more southerly sweep and head back towards home. Keene was the next stop and a surprise. Another great downtown area, very artsy and reminded us of Saratoga's downtown. Lots of traffic. Lots of motorcycles, gotta love the no-helmet law thing. There were quite a few places to eat here, and also great architecture as in most of the places we went through. Got the impression that this would also be a very liberal area though.

We are definitely looking forward to the Porcupine Festival to talk with other folks to confirm or correct our first impressions of these areas. Our next scouting trip is tentatively the Concord area.

Gerry & Kim LaVallee
Gloversville, NY

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2004-05-31 Patrick Houlmiere

NH Visit

by Patrick Houlmiere • 5/31/04

When my wife Edwina, and I heard Walter Williams introduce the concept of the Free State Project on a radio talk show a couple years ago, we immediately knew we were in. We found the FSP website and put our names down.

Once New Hampshire was chosen last fall, we began researching this great, little, fascinating place through books and websites. The more we learned, the more we got excited. Finally last month I flew to Manchester, rented a car and hit the road. In 6 days I covered over 1100 miles, during which I met a couple dozen Porcupines already living there, and several of them took the time to guide me around their community. Everyone of them was unusually bright, committed to the project, and passionate about its agenda. I found Porcupines to be full of hope, optimism, and had a contagious "we can do it" attitude – they truly believe this is a done deal! I can't wait to have thousands of characters like them living within minutes from my front door! With everyone enthusiastically working on the same issues, things will have to change and improve – We will bring back small, Constitutional government, and the socialists among us will have to flee elsewhere, because parasites can't suck on 'quills' very well... It will be fun watching them crawl south, or west... Anywhere but the Free State.

Here are a few random observations that impressed me as I scouted New Hampshire:

• Gas was 50 cents cheaper than in Nevada and 70 cents cheaper than in California!

• I didn't see any graffiti anywhere! Did I miss something or does that mean so called "gangs" can't thrive in New Hampshire?

• Locals are great! Every single person I came in contact with as I traveled was polite, pleasant, and they went out of their way to help or give directions.

• Cell phones are nearly useless in two thirds of the state! That seems like an opportunity for one of us to fix that.

• There are attractive little towns everywhere among the many creeks, rivers, lakes, trees, hills, and mountains. The place is beautiful – even during mud season – I can only imagine what Spring, Summer, and Fall will be like. (I won't speculate about how nice Winter might be... yet)

• Except for abnormally high housing costs in some central and southeast townships, the rest of the state seemed reasonable, even more affordable than northern Nevada.

• Keene gets my vote for the most ideal community to live in – It has everything Edwina and I are looking for (except for the ocean;-) I think we will end up there.

In conclusion – we are not waiting until 2006 – we want to join the growing "we can do it" crowd, NOW... We'll be NH residents by mid summer!

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2004-06-09 Karl Beisel: Moving to Manchester

Moving to Manchester – Head 'em up! Move 'em out!

by Karl Beisel • 6/9/04

I'm pleased to report that I closed on my house in Manchester last weekend, and will be making the move on June 19, just in time for the PorcFest and NHLA dinner the following weekend.

I want to take a moment to explain how I came to select Manchester as my new home, and tell a little about my impressions of the city.

Last December, I did a week-long driving tour of southern New Hampshire, stopping in the towns on a list of possible destinations. My route took me through Keene, Claremont, Lebanon, and Hanover, then down to Concord and Manchester, then up to Rochester, Portsmouth and finally Hampton. I prefer a more urban lifestyle, so I did not stop in small towns and rural areas. I'll describe my impressions of each town briefly.

Keene: This is a neat and vibrant medium-sized city, dominated by Keene State College in the center of town. Its downtown has many businesses that cater to a college crowd. By all appearances, Keene is a great place to live. It is, however, a bit too isolated for my wants, and it has a reputation for being one of the most "liberal" towns in the state, which has advantages and disadvantages, I suppose.

Claremont: This city was mentioned months ago as a possible destination for Free Staters. But be warned, this town is in rough shape. Claremont was the town that originally brought forth those infamous Claremont lawsuits, which resulted in the statewide property tax. The Claremont lawsuits are just the latest attempt by the Claremont government to foist their self-created economic disaster onto the rest of New Hampshire.

Although it has a reasonably pretty downtown with a beautiful City Hall, about a third of the shops are shuttered. It has several abandoned mill buildings that will soon be the home of a technical college that will be moving from its current location north of town. Otherwise, the downtown is in a perpetual state of "revitalization" that has apparently been going on for decades, at great taxpayer expense, and to little effect. Despite all this, the town manages to support BOTH a K-Mart and a Wal-Mart, among the many stores located on Claremont's particularly ugly sprawl strip. There are few jobs and worse-than-usual public schools. The good news: dirt-cheap housing, and the city is nestled amidst some beautiful rural semi-mountainous country.

Lebanon: North of Claremont, Lebanon is like a smaller version of Keene; it has a community college at the town center. It's much prettier than Claremont, and there is actual industry there; it seems to benefit from the nearby interstate highway and its proximity to wealthy Hanover a couple miles north.

Hanover: Home of Dartmouth College, with its premier medical school. Georgetown on the Connecticut River, and absolutely beautiful. This is the definition of a college town; Dartmouth College practically IS the town. Downtown, the many shops, bars and restaurants cater to a college crowd, and the many out-of-state visitors. There are a couple of ski resorts close by as well. By most measures, a fine (though expensive) place to live.

Concord: A bit closer to what I'm looking for, though a tough egg to crack politically, due to the large number of state employees and lobbyist-types. It has a vibrant downtown, with the State House at the center. I visited the State House, and the stories I've heard are true. No metal detectors, no bag searches. I walked through the corridors unmolested. I walked by the office for the "Speaker of the House." I could just walk in if I felt like it. Living with the police presence of Washington, DC, this experience was quite novel. I didn't stay in Concord long, because I wanted to get to the 2nd city on my "short list", Manchester before the end of what, as it turned out, was literally the shortest day of my life (the farthest north I've been on a winter solstice). As I headed out, I noticed the Federal Building, which is oversized and fronts the street at crooked angle, with its bunker-style architecture, completely out of character with the rest of the city, like a UFO had landed in Concord. Typical. Anyway, I decided to avoid I-93, and traveled back roads through Bow to Manchester.

Manchester: There's a whole lot more going on here than anywhere else in New Hampshire. Manchester is the largest city in the state, at about 108,000 people. Its downtown is dominated by a series of large mill buildings, many of which had been abandoned for a long time, but are now mostly in use as warehouses, offices, hotels, retail shops, apartments, a museum, and even a branch of UNH. The downtown is bustling, and it promises to become even more so, with the construction of a new minor league baseball stadium, and new downtown apartments. Manchester may have a reputation for an industrial-grit character, but its downtown is becoming increasingly "yuppie" with new independently-owned coffee shops and restaurants. I'm a yuppie, so I like this stuff.

Transportation is excellent. I-93 and I-293 both go through town (I-93 is being widened now), and there is a small bus system, apparently used mostly by the elderly. As in most NH towns, homes tend to have a lot of off-street parking, which is especially important because of the winter parking ban (most towns in New Hampshire have ordinances that ban street parking during the winter months). There is also rumored to be a future passenger rail line connecting Manchester to Nashua and Boston, but its status is unclear.

Manchester has several identifiable neighborhoods. The very center of the city east of Elm Street (Manchester's "main" street) is densely packed with 4-12 unit tenements, where mostly lower-income residents live. Along Elm Street and in the Mill district along the Merrimack is the site of much post-industrial redevelopment, and an increasingly popular area (read: pricey) for those who like genuine urban living.

Outward, the neighborhoods are generally identified as one of four "ends" – north, east, west and south. The "West End" is the part on the west side of the Merrimack River. This is mostly lower-middle income, mostly apartments mixed in with businesses but also some houses. The "North End" is the upscale part of town, with many large houses, especially along Elm Street, which is ridiculously wide. The "East End/Hanover Hill" neighborhood is largely middle class, as is the "South End" both of which consist mostly of single-family homes. Beyond these urban neighborhoods is the customary asteroid belt of sprawl, with its cookie-cutter colonial houses and strip malls. Beyond that, it gets rural quickly.

Manchester has everything – three pro sports teams (baseball, hockey, and arena football), a major shopping mall (The Mall of New Hampshire), and a newly updated airport with flights throughout the country (note to self: get on Airport Commission and make them stop piping FOX NEWS throughout the airport). There are also many parks, and a large lake (Lake Massabesic) where you can enjoy fishing and light boating. The quality of life here is something to behold.

Rochester: After visiting Manchester, I knew that was the place to be. But Rochester was also one of my "short list" cities, so I headed up that way. I've heard some not-so-flattering things about this city, but I didn't think it was that bad. If you like the seacoast region, Rochester still has reasonably-priced real estate, and a reputation, whether true or not, for being among the more libertarian-leaning towns in New Hampshire. The city's main newspaper has an emblem that reads "Your Rights, Your Liberty." Sounds good to me. I think Rochester is a good compromise city for those who want a city like Claremont but with less poverty. Some Free Staters have suggested Rochester as a candidate for a larger "free town" but I'm not aware of any takers so far.

Portsmouth: I buzzed through Portsmouth pretty quickly. I hear it's a great downtown, but fabulously expensive, being right on the seacoast. It's also a major retirement destination, and a high-tech employment center, due in part to the proximity of a US Navy shipyard that builds submarines (this base has been under the threat of closure for some time). I hear the downtown was a dump not so long ago. Now it's a major tourist destination and a choice spot for uppity living. Lots of restaurants and touristy shops.

Hampton: After a few days in Portland, Maine, I headed back south to Hampton, one of New Hampshire's beach resort towns. It is located adjacent to the Seabrook nuclear power plant. Its downtown is right on the coast, with a small beach, complete with a boardwalk and beachy trinket shops. It was the dead of winter, so the whole place was shut down; even the McDonalds was boarded up. From what I could observe, at least in winter, there must be a rule that you have to be over the age of 65 to live in Hampton. Apparently, like Portsmouth, Hampton is retirement destination. I'll have to return this summer to get another take.

The decision: Manchester.

So, why Manchester? Having lived in very urban neighborhoods in Washington, DC and Arlington, VA, I've come to prefer the urban, where I may walk to most of my destinations, and where I feel I can take a more active part in the community. New Hampshire is one of those special places where its inner cities are, for the most part, still vibrant, productive, and safe. Manchester in particular has a sort of aura about it that seems almost to brag about its industrial ethic, an embodiment of the Yankee spirit that I find so appealing. I want to be a part of that. Other towns share that spirit, but perhaps Manchester's mill yards and the raging Merrimack River through the center of town, and even its large buildings and traffic congestion on Elm Street, make it stand out.

Manchester is the very heart of southern New Hampshire; anyone living there has access to the employment opportunities and amenities available in Portsmouth, Nashua and Concord, and even Metro Boston.

Politically speaking, I know only a little about Manchester politics, just what I've occasionally read in newspapers. As the largest city in the state, with its share of urban problems, I see living there as an opportunity to help open up discussion to new ideas for solving these issues in a way that is consistent with the principles of liberty. I certainly don't see Manchester ever becoming a libertine "free town", but I can imagine that one successful and innovative reform in local government, in a city of that size, could serve as a powerful example of what such policies can achieve. I'll do my best to take my time in becoming a member of the community; and I will pursue my goals as such a member. And so, we'll see how it goes.

Meanwhile, on to the Manchester in New Hampshire, the Free State…

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2004-06-16 Christine Lopez and Seth Cohn:Our visit to the Shire

Our visit to the Shire

by Christine Lopez and Seth Cohn • 6/16/04

I guess we were both very excited & we woke up at 3 a.m. in January of 2004. We left Yonkers NY by 5 & were in Keene NH by 9 a.m. Being as it was Sunday morning, the streets were all but empty. Keene has a very small but quaint downtown square & we enjoyed walking around & then stopping into a cafe for coffee & a game of chess. I even happened upon my totem animal, a hawk, who was feeding down a side street from where we were walking.

As it turns out, Keene was having its bridal show this afternoon, so of course, we had to check it out! It was cool because we got some ideas for our wedding & we met some local people who are in my line of work.

The Carriage Barn was cute & comfortable. The owner was more than willing to offer conversation as well as serve some delicious muffins.

Later that evening we met with some people from the Free State Project for some food & my first real glimpse as to what I was getting myself into. My impressions were very favorable & I began to feel a strong sense of community.

The next day we drove to Manchester, but not before taking a few pictures of Keene during its "rush hour." It just doesn't get too awfully bad in a small town, but it is a college town & on Monday @ 9 a.m., you're going to see some cars moving around the square. We also stopped in Peterborough which I had read was a very arts-minded community. Well, it seems more of an artsy-fartsy community. It will probably be more of a nice place to come to to see a good show & get some culture.

Before our next meeting with some more FSP friends at the hotel, we went out to check out Manchester & Nashua. This is definitely the most populace area of the state, but it doesn't take very long to be back into the forest. So, it seems very possible that wherever I can find a job, it won't be difficult to have a house in the country.

As soon as we got back to the hotel, our new friends were waiting for us. We got to know each other for a little while before heading over to dinner at Spatts restaurant. Wow & Yum! I'm so glad that we went off the diet for this vacation! I had fried shrimp with a baked sweet potato & Seth had a stuffed fish fillet that was nutty & delicious. Our new friends with the FSP were warm & open and we had much more to talk about than just politics. I asked about mud & black fly season & Don Gorman assured me that they are short lived. As far as the snow & cold go, I'll probably need to just bundle up & have fun, you know, make snowmen & maybe get involved in some winter sports.

This was one of the best times I had on our trip. I really enjoyed the company, conversation & food. We stayed long after our meals were done & I truly felt like I was taking part in something important.

Then next day Don wanted to take us to Portsmouth for lunch & adventure. Before leaving Manchester though, I went ahead & followed a lead that Don's partner Marianne had given me for the Holiday Inn. They are the main conference center in the Shire & even though they didn't have anything available in management at this time, it was interesting to see what they had available as far as meeting rooms & personality. It's going to be hard leaving the Hilton Eugene. This is where all my friends are & I feel that I've really grown up here...

Don wanted us to see the "seedy" part of town before our drive to the coast. It wasn't very bad & if that's the worst it gets, I think we'll be able to find a nice little place to start a family. From here I saw snow on the beach for the first time & it was very cold without my hat & gloves on! It's winter! Portsmouth is another artsy community that is made for tourists. Don't get me wrong, I liked it well enough, but the housing is very expensive & unless I find a really good job here, it will be expensive to live here.

So on we went to Dover & the best lobster ever at Newicks Restaurant. It was juicy & tender & even came with a bib. Seth got a huge plate of fried seafood & the scallops were phenomenal. Oh, we can't forget the huge plate of steamer clams that still had the tails on them. Yum!

Having had my little adventure, I had a little nap in the backseat on the way home. This gave Seth & Don some more time to talk politics & when I woke up, all I could see were beautifully frosted trees. It's definitely a winter wonderland here.

From Manchester we drove to Lebanon with a drive thru Concord. Here we had an interesting experience on our way to dinner. We encountered a road stop & when we had our turn the officer peeked in & asked if we were American citizens. "That was weird." We both said. The funny thing was that we had actually taken a wrong turn & were in Vermont & had to turn around to get back to the Shire. From then on we had a nice night in with pizza and VH1.

The next day we had to head back to NY, but we had plenty of time, so we stopped in a few other NH towns along the way. Since we were so close, we made a quick stop in Hanover & took some pictures of Dartmouth college.

This day was the coldest we had experienced in our visit. It got UP to 13 degrees f. Although the air was brisk, the countryside we drove thru was spectacular. The trees are all dotted with snow & frost & I had to take many, many pictures.

You can see these pictures and more here.

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2004-08-08 William N. Kilarjian: A New Yorker looks at NH

A New Yorker looks at New Hampshire

by William N. Kilarjian &#149 8/8/04

This last Fourth of July my wife, myself and our Jack Russell Terrier 'Mac' traveled to New Hampshire from our home in Westchester County, NY. This was only the second trip to the granite state for my wife and the first for Mac. In my youth our family had traveled often to New Hampshire on summer vacations, frequenting Manchester, Portsmouth, Nashua and Lake Winnipesaukee. Those summer trips and subsequent trips thereafter always engendered a feeling of being drawn to the Old Man of the Mountain. New Hampshire's appealing qualities are manifest. In the muscular natural beauty, the open, friendly and forthrightness of the people, the dignity of her cities and towns. Admirable traits abound.

On this trip we planned to visit Keene and then continue north to stay with friends in the Berlin and Gorham area. We departed NY and made our first port of call. We found Keene and its environs to be thoroughly lovely. The Main Street, which we strolled along amiably, is nonpareil. Reasoned development policies clearly in evidence, Keene possesses the needed commercial attributes and infrastructure without sacrificing the feeling of neighborly community.

Our next stops were in Berlin and Gorham. Here we met friends, took in the beautiful fireworks display in Gorham and basked in the wonderful surroundings. Berlin, while obviously a factory town, fortunes ebbing and flowing as the tide thereon, seems as if the tide is coming back in with a vengeance. In many locations we noticed new or just getting ready to open businesses. There is a sense of optimism about town. This augurs well for the future. A note about the Fourth of July fireworks show in Gorham. When the National Anthem started it was heartening to see the vast majority of people stand while it played. In me this evoked clear thoughts on the meaning of patriotism and brought to mind Adlai Stevenson:

"Patriotism is not short, frenzied outbursts of emotion, but the tranquil and steady dedication of a lifetime."

A short frenzied burst of patriotic emotion is what we saw in New York after recent events. True to type, New Yorkers have reverted to their particular and peculiar form of condescension towards not only our nation but to those who evince the tranquil and steady patriotism of a lifetime. Being a life long New Yorker, born in New York City in Jamaica, Queens and raised in Astoria, I am keenly aware of the attitudes of New Yorkers toward what they regard the "lesser States" and those who dwell in them.

One of the reasons we made the Keene area our first stop was because of our intention to move there over the course of the next year. Deciding to leave our settled life in New York was not done on a whim. Sadly, or perhaps not so, it has become a necessary reality. New York as presently constituted no longer resembles the New York of my youth. Decades of misguided government policies both fiscal and social have taken the empire out of the Empire State. Also, as a life long conservative and republican one no longer feels especially welcome. A monolithic political structure is not conducive to representative government. The State itself, particularly in the area of government, has become unwieldy. In light of the stark differences that exist in the three main regions it may be time to consider devolving to three smaller states - North, West and South New York State. Perhaps this might stem the tide so to speak and bring sanity back to governance. Well, enough about New York.

After deciding to make the move we researched New Hampshire and several other states and in nearly every measure and survey year after year New Hampshire ranks at the top or highly in nearly every category. Its admirable qualities and policies of government at every level plus an abiding belief in the fundamental ability of the individual or business to make their own way sans the tender mercies of government are attributes seen all to infrequently in government these days. Frankly, there was really no way New Hampshire was going to lose in our book. Our minds had already been made up; we were just going through the motions in cursory fashion.

The entire trip was thoroughly enjoyable. All that we saw and did along with the people we spoke with reinforced for us that we made the right choice in deciding to move to New Hampshire.

We look forward to making New Hampshire our new home.

William N. Kilarjian is a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society of the United Kingdom.

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2004-08-12 Phil Boncer: Impressions of NH and the FSP gathering

Impressions of NH and the FSP gathering

by Phil Boncer • 8/12/04

Kristine and I have just returned from nearly two weeks in NH. We drove almost 1300 miles around the state, which isn't bad for a 200 mile long state. We stopped in towns all over to gather info on real estate, zoning, available amenities, local attitudes, and general impressions. We were open about our intent to move to NH, and about our plans to try to buy a decent property, and have on it our home, a wholesale yarn-dyeing business in a barn or outbuilding that may employ up to 10 persons and would require a UPS delivery/pick-up, possibly a small one-classroom private school, and likely a second barn for hobbies and collections and such. We came back with two grocery sacks full of real estate booklets, newspapers, zoning and building regulations, employment ad papers, relocation packets, and assorted other literature.

We flew into Boston, arriving on the morning of 21 Jun (Monday), and rented a car. That day we drove through Portsmouth, Exeter, Salem, Nashua, and stayed the night at Stepping Stones B&B in Wilton (recommended; it was excellent and fairly inexpensive). Portsmouth is nice but quite expensive. Exeter is nice, but fairly expensive and has very strict zoning; they were not encouraging. Small towns nearby may offer some possibilities. Salem and Nashua were unenticing and not scenic, but offered cheap real estate, likely reasonable zoning, and easy access to Boston. Nashua seemed to have the best selection of ethnic restaurants of any city we visited in the state. Milford and Wilton were lovely, and reasonable in cost. Zoning would require variances for our plans, but the town clerks sounded positive about getting them.

Tuesday we went to Peterborough, Harrisville, Keene, and small towns in between. Mostly lovely, a bit depressed around Greenville. Peterborough zoning prohibitive. Harrisville dodgy, but other solutions possible, such as rening one of the local mill buildings for the yarn business. Keene is quite nice, and might be a good spot. Smaller towns in the area looked like good options were available. We stayed at the B&B in Wilton again.

Wednesday we headed north. Bedford looked like a good possibility. Manchester is a real city, and bears looking into; probably in the outskirts to affordably meet our needs/plans. Many neighborhoods had signs prohibiting trucks on their street at night, sometimes at all. Concord similar but smaller. We then detoured west through Bath, Lisbon, Sugar Hill, and Littleton. All very nice. Real estate is very reasonable up here. Zoning would require variances for our plans, but the town clerks here again sounded positive about getting them. This is all "above the notches", so weather will be more severe and shipping costs for the business higher.

Wednesday evening through Monday morning we spent at Roger's Campground in Lancaster. The gathering was fabulous, and we met many fine people and made several new friends. There was a fine and refreshing lack of obvious nutcases (something I admit to having been a bit worried about); by and large it seemed a group of people who could move in and make a difference without alienating everyone we came across. It was great to meet in person so many of those I've corresponded with online. I was quite impressed with the FSP leaders as well. Amanda is I think doing a fine job, and did well with the many press persons in attendance. It was nice to see Jason again; good to see him get to relax a bit, lovely to meet Mary. The organizers did a great job keeping it all rolling. Thanks to George and Dave and Tim and all others! The Saturday evening BBQ was a bit weak for the money, but it seemed that there were more people than expected. I might suggest having speakers and vendors in different rooms next time, which would allow both to conduct their affairs with less interference.

The press presence was amazing, both local and national. Most of them seemed to be fairly positively disposed, and to have a reasonable understanding of the movement. Articles in the papers over the next couple of days were pretty fair and reasonably positive.

We did attend the NHLA dinner on Friday evening. It was well organized and well attended. The speakers were interesting and even the food was decent! Thanks to Mr. Murphy and the Pratts, as well as the many others I'm sure had a hand in it. A small pack of liberals protested with signs. Their favorite slogan seems to be "Government is not the problem." Sorry guys, but you're wrong. Government is in fact, if not the entire problem, usually a big part of it.

We also went on the trip to Grafton on Sunday. It looked quite promising for the longer term, but will need time and work, especially on Bob's land, which is still very raw. Grafton is the closest cheap real estate to Lebanon/Hanover where Dartmouth College is locaed, and might make a very good investment. On the way back we took a look at Lebanon/Hanover, since there may be industries there I can work in. These looked nice but expensive and probably overzoned. Haverhill looked possible.

On Monday we left the campground and headed first up to Berlin, which looked pretty active. The main employer in the town is a paper mill that makes their paper "from scratch" as the librarians told us. Real estate is very cheap. It's likely too far north for us, however. We then came back south and toured the Lakes region. Pretty, but both very expensive and a little tacky but mainly touristy with ski condos everywhere. Unlikely to be what we want. We stayed in a campground and got rained on very heavily.

Tuesday we continued our tour of the lakes region, through Conway and the like.

Wednesday we went to Rochester, which looks depressed and a bit rundown. Reasonable real estate and workable zoning probably available. Somersworth was cute. We drove the beach/coast road; very posh and expensive, crowded. Parts were scenic, but no thanks. Dover might offer some possibilities. We stayed the night in Dover with Dave Mincin. Thanks, Dave!

Thursday we went back for another look at Exeter and Portsmouth, having learned much more about what to look for. Our initial impressions were comfirmed. We stayed at a B&B in Portsmouth, and had a fantastic (but expensive) meal at a French restaurant called Lindbergh's Crossing. I highly recommend it if you have the inclination for fine dining, it was worth the price!

Friday we walked Portsmouth some more. It's sort of more upscale touristy; more art and less outlet malls. Then we drove back to Boston and flew home.

Some notes:

1. New Hampshire is beautiful almost everywhere, and livable in most places. Almost all of the west half of the state looked pretty good; most of the east half seemed unsuitable for us for one reason or another.

2. As usual, the cities seem more politically liberal than the countryside.

3. Several towns were incorporated in the 1800's, from parts of surrounding towns. I asked around at the FSP fest if anyone had looked to see if this was still possible, to create our own free town somewhere rather than disrupt an existing order, and was told by several that it was not. I have since found out, however, that Sugar Hill was incorporated in 1962, and that there are a few unincorporated areas still existing (albeit mostly way up north). I think further investigation is warranted.

4. NH natives are very nice and were almost universally welcoming and friendly. Most had heard of the Free State Project, although many had not. None gave us bad reactions to the concept (except for the protestors at the NHLA dinner).

5. Kristine and I are going, whether or not the FSP officially succeeds. Even if nothing there improves, it's a very good place, and a damn sight better than California.

6. We can certainly make a difference, and I think we can actually succeed in our goals, as long as we are willing to take a long-term, respectful, gentle, and patient approach. I think most NH residents are open to our ideas, and will help us achieve a real freedom, provided we don't act like a bull in a china shop, and piss everyone off before they get to know us.

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President's Corner - 2006-05-06

President's Corner

May 06, 2006

Message from the President

I may be getting a little bit ambitious here, but I hope to include two sections in each issue.  First, a message about something timely and/or important.  I want to inspire you each week or so to 're up' your commitment to do the very best you can to promote freedom wherever you are.  I also want to remind you of the importance of the FSP, and maybe tempt you with a glimpse into what's going on in New Hampshire.  The second section will be a summary of some of the things that the FSP has been up to.  I'll include what I, personally, have worked on, as well as any important reports from others.  I may also include action items that you can help us with, or help wanted ads for jobs that we really need to get done right away.  

If you have any suggestions or ideas for this feature, please feel free to send them my way.   Email me at president@freestateproject.org for the best quality response.

Recent FSP Activity  (lots of action items!)

1. First 1000 - The First 1000 mailing has reached mailboxes and the signup rate has gone through the roof!  It's very exciting to see people increasing their commitment to freedom, and some even coming back after lengthy absences.  What we don't know quite yet is how many people will respond to this mailing or future ones.  Even though Pledge Bank shows us far exceeding our goal right now, that can change quickly.  We need to spread the word about the First 1000 as far and quickly as possible.  I'll talk more about that in a future update.
2. New FSP website - The IT Department continues to work on the new FSP website.  This page is one example of the kinds of things we'll be able to do with the new website.  I'm typing this directly into a WYSIWYG editor on the FSP website.  Soon, officers, department heads, and other volunteers will be able to directly add content to the FSP website, giving many more people the ability to collaborate on projects and publish new material.  There have been some challenges and there's lots more work to do.  If you'd like to volunteer to help the IT department, please email our Volunteer Coordinator, Nik, at volunteer@freestateproject.org and offer your assistance.  Drupal / CivicSpace experience helpful but not required.
3. Banner Ads - The FSP has, at times, placed banner ads and/or other types of ads on various internet websites.  We'd love to do more of that, but we need someone to help organize the program.  We can help with the banners themselves, but we need someone to come up with search engines and search terms and combinations to place ads for.  If you'd like to help, email Nik at volunteer@freestateproject.org.  In fact, if we had 2 or 5 or 20 people working on this, that'd be okay!
4. Flags - Some Porcs are considering making Flags that would be available at Porc Fest.  Feedback can be provided here.
5. Porc Fest - Speaking of Porc Fest, planning continues to move along.  There's a forum for discussion and questions about the fest or offers of assistance (much appreciated, BTW) can be directed at Kate, our Porc Fest Pooh Bah via email at porcfest@freestateproject.org.
6. Survey - We'd like to do a voluntary survey of FSP Participants and friends to try and find out how to better market the project to prospective participants.  We need to know how to supercharge recruiting to meet our goal of 20,000 participants as soon as practical.  Our PR Firm is ready to help us, but we could use some help on the volunteer end.  If you'd like to help with the survey, please email Nik at volunteer@freestateproject.org.  Nik's email box should be full by now!
7. Local Groups - Several new local groups seem to be starting up all the sudden.  In addition to being our Volunteer Coordinator, Nik is our Local Groups leader and has obviously been lighting fires under some people around the country.  Or mabye it's the other way around?!?  Regardless, he reports there are new groups starting up or in the works in Central Minnesota, West Virginia, Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Wausau, Wisconsin, and maybe San Diego.  Wow!  Alson on the Local Groups front, the Northern California local group is meeting on May 7th.  There will be not 1, not 2, but *3* Porcs who have moved to NH at that meeting, including Board Member Sandy and myself. 
   
8. Board Opening - Jean Alexander, one of our long time valuable volunteers has decided it's time to 'retire' from what seems like more than full-time FSP work.  Jean has been a very productive volunteer for the FSP for a long time and is deserving of a break and a great big Thank You!  I've enjoyed working with Jean and wish her the best in her future endeavors.  The Board will be considering candidates to fill her slot in the near future.

President's Corner - 2006-05-13

President's Corner

May 13, 2006

Message from the President

The Porcupine Freedom Festival is happening next month.  This is the largest gathering of Free State Project participants each year.  Last year, we think it was the largest gathering of pro-freedom activists in the nation (maybe the whole world).  We're hoping for a repeat this year.

But why is it so important that you come?  The answer, I suppose, depends on who you are.

Are you considering joining the FSP but haven't made your mind up yet?  There is no better time to visit New Hampshire with an eye towards moving here than the Porc Fest.  You'll be able to sample a wide variety of things that go on year around in NH.  If you carve out some free time to tour around the state, you might find a spot that you just can't resist calling home. 

Have you Joined the FSP but don't know when you're moving yet?  The Porc Fest has inspired many people who had no specific time frame in mind to move sooner.  You'll meet countless activists 'on the ground' and get a better sense for the community that has developed over the last few years.  Maybe you'll decide it's time to move now and join the hundreds of others who have
taken the First 1000 pledge.

Are you moving soon, but haven't quite done it yet, or don't have all the details figured out?  That's the situation I was in at Porc Fest 2004.  Not only did I get some great exposure to the way things work in New Hampshire, I also had time to spend with my builder, and was able to make other moving arrangements.  I hope you've also joined the First 1000 project already. 

Have you already made the move?  Then you need to be there to be a part of the warmest prickly welcome there ever was!  (psst, you also need to make sure you've signed the First 1000 pledge if you moved after 10/1/03)  As relatively new residents of New Hampshire, we know first hand that we need more help right away, and we also know what it takes to make the move. 
Making our soon-to-be neighbors feel welcome and offering our very best assistance to them in getting their move underway can be the difference that gets more pro-freedom activists to move sooner. 

Are you a New Hampshire native or long-time resident?  If so, you're in a unique position to share first hand knowledge of how New Hampshire works.  You have the sense of culture and history that needs to be understood by all of us who wish to join you in keeping New Hampshire the freest state in the nation.

Regardless of where you are or what your plans are, the Porcupine Freedom Festival is the very best place for freedom lovers to be this year.  Come join us and see first hand the place over 7,000 Free State Project Participants have committed to calling home.

V-
 

If you have any suggestions or ideas for this feature, please feel free to send them my way.   Email me at president@freestateproject.org for the best quality response.

Recent FSP Activity  (lots of action items!)

1. First 1000 - As I reported last week, the First 1000 mailing has reached mailboxes and the signup rate has gone through the roof!  In addition to the online signups we've received, there were several new signers who returned their pledges in the mail.  We still have a lot of work to do to find the rest of the signers.  I can't stress enough how important this is to the future of the Free State Project and freedom itself.  If you've signed the pledge, thank you!  If not, please consider doing so today and make sure to encouage your freedom-loving friends to follow your lead!
2. Porc Fest - The schedule has been updated with lots of exciting stuff.  New additions include the Liberty Ladies Cook-off and more information on who's speaking at the fest.  Check out the schedule and, if you haven't already done so, get your name on the We'll Be There List.  It's gonna be a great time!
   
3. Fund Raising - Cary March has started a pledge at pledge bank to help raise money for the FSP.  He says he'll donate $50 per month for 6 months (July 2006 - December 2006) if 39 other people will do the same!  I've signed the pledge, and would encourage you to do so also.  If we meet the pledge, your $50 per month will be multipled 40 times, giving the FSP $2000 per month to promote the project.  With that money, we can recruit more people for the First 1000 pledge and for the FSP's Statement of Intent, bringing us closer to our goal of 20,000 pro-freedom activists in NH.  Go to http://www.pledgebank.com/fspdonate to sign up!
4. Direct Mail - Our Direct Mail department (led by Cary March) has been working on the first of what we hope will be a string of Direct Mailings for outreach purposes.  We ran a successful test last year and are going to be repeating it and improving on it.  We expect this to bring more new participants to the FSP as the last one did.  If you'd like to support our Direct Mail efforts, feel free to send us a donation.
   
5. Local Groups - We have yet another new Local Group forming in Northwest Florida.  Thanks to Marty for getting it started.  For questions about local groups, please email Nik at volunteer@freestateproject.org.
6. Volunteering - Have you thought about volunteering to help the Free State Project?  There's no better time than right now to get on board.  If you're not sure what needs to be done, email Nik at volunteer@freestateproject.org and he can give you some ideas.  Already know what you'd love to do???  We're ready to have your help! 
   

President's Corner - 2006-05-21

President's Corner

May 21, 2006

Message from the President

Be an effective activist now

The Free State Project has created many pro-freedom activists right out of thin air.  Many people who have moved to NH as a result of their participation in the FSP have indicated they were not previously active in promoting freedom, usually because they didn't think anything they did would make a difference.

There are two thoughts that come to mind as a result of that phenomenon.  First, there is both the perception and the reality that you can be more effective at increasing the level of freedom in NH than outside NH.  At first, people simply thought they could do better in NH.  Now, it's been demonstrated repeatedly.  

So while many people generally didn't think they could improve things in their former locations (and they may have been right), they do think they can make a difference in NH (and, indeed, they're right on that count also).  Moral:  you're likely to be a more effective pro-freedom activist in NH.

Second, though you might not be able to have a dramatic impact outside NH, you can still be an effective activist.  How's that, you ask?  There are two important things you can do right now that will be very effective even before
you move to NH.

You can make your best effort, despite how futile you may think it is, to improve something.  Whether you run for office, campaign for an issue, advocate via letters to the editor, or any number of other activities, you'll still benefit.  Most obviously, there's the chance that it could actually work.  And even if it doesn't, you will have learned a lot about how the process works, what to do better next time, and so on.  That education will come in very handy when you do eventually make it to NH - making you a more
effective activist.

While you're going about actively promoting freedom, you will probably run into other people who share an interest in freedom.  Odds are good they're as frustrated as you are with the rapid decline of freedom in America.  This gives you a golden opportunity to encourage them to join you someday in NH where you can work together with far greater effect.  If taking that golden opportunity leads you to recruit three more people to join the FSP and move to NH, we'll give you a Golden Porcupine!

The time to be an effective activist is right now.  Regardless of where you live, seek out opportunities to promote freedom, learn how to be a better activist, and find those people who, like you, are ready to join thousands of others in New Hampshire in the quest for freedom.

V-
 

If you have any suggestions or ideas for this feature, please feel free to send them my way.   Email me at president@freestateproject.org for the best quality response.

Recent FSP Activity  (lots of action items!)

1. First 1000 - Since its inception, Jean Alexander has been leading most of the behind-the-scenes efforts to promote the First 1000 project.  Please join me in expressing my sincerest thanks to Jean for her hard work and dedication to the project and to freedom.  Jean is ready for a break (she's been tirelessly volunteering for several years now) and is passing the baton to Sandy.  Thank you Sandy for agreeing to pick up the ball and run with it!  Please send offers of help and ideas for how to promote the First 1000 project to Sandy at spierre@freestateproject.org.
   
2. Porc Fest - The We'll Be There list continues to grow.  It's now well over the total for the 2004 Fest and there's still a month left before the Fest!  Are you going to be there?  I am!  Regardless of who or where you are, it's important that you be there!
3. Operation Politically Homeless - The Free State Project has lots of materials available to do Operation Politically Homeless (OPH) booths.  This is an excellent way to reach out to people who probably think the way we do but don't know what to call themselves yet.  They also make excellent potential FSP Participants.  Another fringe benefit is that if we operate OPH booths on behalf of the FSP and take photographs, we stand a good chance of making it onto the Advocates For Self-Government's home page!  Currently, Gardner Goldsmith is featured on the front page and the FSP gets a mention from Porc Fest '05.  Let's keep the FSP on the front page of the Advocates website!  If you're interested in doing an OPH booth for the FSP in your area, please contact Nik at volunteer@freestateproject.org.
4. Advertising - The FSP is running Ads for the First 1000 project in Reason Magazine and LP News.  These are just two examples of the FSP actively reaching out for new participants.  All of this, of course, costs money.  If you think these ads (and others) are great ways to promote the FSP, please feel free to donate so we can place more.
5. Banners - Phil Denisch has received new banners for FSP booths.  Whether you're doing an OPH booth or just handing out information, selling merchandise, and chatting up the FSP, these banners will make your booth look great.  Contact Phil at merchandise@freestateproject.org to arrange to have one shipped to you for your event.
   
6. Survey - The FSP is going to be surveying you!  Whether you've already moved to NH, are a participant, First 1000 signer, friend, or just get the FSP News because you're interested, we want to know what you think.  The questions are being prepared and an announcement should be going out soon.  Watch your email boxes.  This will be a great chance for you to shape the future of FSP outreach and let us know how we're doing and what we could be doing better.  Thank you in advance for sharing your opinions with us.
   
7. Forum Migration - Big thanks to Jon Maltz for migrating our forum over to a new host.  The FSP's IT department has been working hard to resolve some reliability problems stemming from our upgraded website.  Completing the forum migration is a giant step forward in that regard.  The remainder of the site will be moved soon.  After that, you can expect to see more positive changes to the FSP's website.
   
8. Internet Forums - One of the most cost effective ways you can help promote the FSP is through the internet.  Specifically, spreading the FSP idea through pro-freedom internet forums has proven effective at gaining new Participants and Friends.  Denis Goddard has agreed to organize lists of internet forms and an effort to make sure the FSP is well represented.  Watch for more news in a future President's Corner and check the Forums for more information.  If you have any questions or would like to volunteer to help, email me at varrin@freestateproject.org.
   
9. Recent Movers - It recently occurred to me that I should report on those who have made the ultimate commitment:  moving!  The FSP's front page reports a number of people who are currently in NH.  That number relies on recent movers updating their information in the FSP's database.  Unfortunately, they don't always do that.  Fortunately, I have my super-secret insider ways of hearing about new arrivals (hey, it helps to be in NH!).  I'm aware of four recent movers (within the last few weeks, I suppose), one from North Carolina, one from San Diego, one from Austin TX, and one from KY.  Welcome to NH!  And for those of you who haven't moved yet, they're leading the way and you're missing out!  C'mon up!  The welcome is so warm you won't even notice the winter :)
   

President's corner - 2006-05-28

President's Corner

May 28, 2006

Message from the President

What about winter? 

V-
 

If you have any suggestions or ideas for this feature, please feel free to send them my way.   Email me at president@freestateproject.org for the best quality response.

Recent FSP Activity

1. First 1000 - Are you comning to Porc Fest?  This is the perfect time to figure out where to move and, more importantly, when.  We hope you'll join us sooner rather than later.  We've proven that FSP Participants can be effective at increasing the level of freedom in New Hampshire.  The more we have, the freer it gets!  Be a part of the First 1000 and help launch New Hampshire into the freedomsphere ;)
   
2. Lights Of Liberty - Last week I mentioned Operation Politically Homeless.  One of the benefits of doing an Operation Politically Homeless booth is that it qualifies you for the Advocates for Self-Government's Lights Of Liberty award.  We now have our very own FSP Lights Of Liberty page featuring information about the awards and listing FSP Participants who are recipients of the award.  There are three ways to win and they're easy to do!  Visit our Lights Of Liberty page to learn more!
   
3. Survey - As I reported last week, the FSP is going to survey our Participants, Friends and prospective Particpants soon.  The first version of questions is being reviewed now, and when we reach the final version, a special email will go out to the 'info' list.  Please take a few minutes and complete this survey when it becomes available.  The results will help us better focus our resources to recruit more participants. Thank you in advance for sharing your opinions with us.
   
4. Recent Movers - We had yet another new mover to New Hampshire this week.  A gentleman from Belgrade arrived in the Monadnock region!  It seems like someone new arrives every week or two.  Hopefully I'll have more to report next week!
   

President's corner - 2006-06-19

President's Corner

June 19, 2006

Message from the President

If you have any suggestions or ideas for this feature, please feel free to send them my way.   Email me at president@freestateproject.org for the best quality response.

Recent FSP Activity

1. The Plan – The 2006 FSP Action Areas of Focus has been posted to the FSP website. It outlines two major goals (more Participants and First 1000 success) and ways we can achieve them. The areas of focus include Internet outreach, Radio outreach, Word of Mouth, the LP, and Direct Mail. In addition, we'll be working towards the First 1000 by reaching out to early movers who haven't signed yet, current FSP Participants, and new FSP participants. Read it here.

2. LP Letters – An unexpected bit of activism came a couple weeks ago when a recently-moved Porc announced he had sent a letter to his former state's LP. Maybe you want to try something similar? This fits well with 'the Plan' (area of focus #4) Here's the thread: http://forum.freestateproject.org/index.php?topic=11947.0

3. State Freedom Index Project – Dr. Sorens is at it again! The Free State Project is starting an index of state freedom. It will compare all 50 states based on objective criteria and rank them based on their level of freedom. This is one of those rare projects that may actually have enough volunteers. However if research is really your thing and you want to help out, make your offer here: http://forum.freestateproject.org/index.php?topic=11945.0

4. Survey – The Free State Project is conducting a survey to better target our marketing. Everyone is invited to participate: Friends, Participants, First 1000 signers, Early Movers, and even non-Participants who are just interested in the project. Please take a few minutes to fill out the survey here.

5. FSP-NM Get Together – Amanda and Ray Powell can't make it to Porc Fest this year. So they're doing the next best thing: hosting a gathering this week for Porcupines at their home in New Mexico! Hopefully we'll have a nice report (and maybe even a picture??) to share in the next corner. If you want to get together with local Porcupines, send an email to Nik, our local groups coordinator, at localgroups@freestateproject.org. He'll help you find other Porcs in your area and invite them to a fun time with like-minded people!

6. Slashdot – The amazing Denis has decided to organize a new form of outreach. It fits in well with the plan (area of focus #1), and has the potential to be a very effective method of gaining new participants. Check out the discussion here. Denis needs more help! http://forum.freestateproject.org/index.php?topic=11954.0

7. Media – The FSP has garnered quite a bit of media attention in the last couple of weeks. Free Talk Live was featured in an article in a Florida Newspaper which also mentioned the Free State Project. The Concord Monitor published my piece clearing up some previous coverage of the FSP and promoting the Porcupine Freedom Festival, and I appeared on MyTV  Prime, a New England area TV show, promoting the Porcupine Freedom Festival and the Free State Project in general.

8. New Movers – I don't have this confirmed yet, but I believe today there were not one but two 'groups' of early movers, one to the Dartmouth area and the other I think to the Seacoast area. And... there's more coming!!! :)

President's corner - 2006-06-29

President's Corner

June 29, 2006

Message from the President

Recent FSP Activity

1. Digg it! - Cary, the genius behind our successful $50 per month pledge (you can still sign up here) figured out a new and successful way to spread the word about the FSP. I uncovered an article from a couple of months ago which he submitted to digg.com. It's getting quite a few diggs and one person has already signed the First 1000 pledge as a result! Want to help? Go here for instructions and details: http://forum.freestateproject.org/index.php?topic=12079.0

2. Vans Warped Tour – Another great grass roots activism program is the Vans Warped Tour outreach. Keith coordinates it and needs more help. They've had recent successes including new participants and friends signed up last week in Kansas City. Great job guys! More info here: http://forum.freestateproject.org/index.php?topic=11680.15

3. Survey – Thanks to the well over 500 people who completed the FSP's survey. I have reviewed preliminary results with our PR firm and what we learned was part expected and part a surprise. All of what we learned will be very valuable in tailoring our message to our target audience and bringing in more participants. The survey is still open, so if you haven't taken it, please take 5 minutes and do so here: http://freestateproject.org/survey .

4. Photos Needed – Did you take photos at the 2006 Porcupine Freedom Festival? We just started a photo gallery for you to upload your photos to here: http://freestateproject.org/gallery/pf2006/ Share your best Porc Fest photos here. They'll be available for all to see just how cool Porc Fest is and will be available to the FSP for publicity purposes, including use on the FSP website and in other promotional materials (print, video, etc.).

5. Cookoff – One of the highlights of the Porc Fest was the Liberty Ladies cookoff. Sandy called it “a scavenger hunt with food!” Congrats to Jenn who won the $400 cash grand prize! There's a neat story behind it all in the Porc Fest review. Look for it soon in the essays section.

6. Pledgebank Fundraising – Our fundraising pledge was successful! The FSP not only met the challenge posted by Cary, but exceeded it by over 30% Way to go! Thanks to Peter (#40), Tony (#50), Edi (for making #50 a reality in one day!), and especially to Cary for getting it all started. The pledge closes tomorrow! It's not to late to join! Go here to pledge $50 a month to the FSP so we can continue recruiting new participants: http://pledgebank.com/fspdonate

7. Speeches – At least two Porc Fest 2006 speeches will be posted to the FSP's essays section. If you missed the fest but want to read the speeches, here's your chance! The President's Welcome, a message of hope, is posted to the essays section. The Founder's Welcome will be posted shortly.

8. Porc Fest '07 – The Porcupine Freedom Festival will be back again next summer. Dates and locations are to be determined but it will have the same casual look and feel as previous years. Rich Goldman is leading the organizational effort and can be reached at porcfest@freestateproject.org. Russell Kanning will be assisting Rich and the two of them will need lots of additional help. Please offer them your best assistance so we can make Porc Fest '07 the biggest libertarian gathering... of the decade!

9. NH Liberty Forum – I'm pleased to announce the FSP will be hosting not one, but two events in 2007! As a counterpart to the casual, summertime Porcupine Freedom Festival, we're kicking off the first annual New Hampshire Liberty Forum. Though we haven't confirmed absolutely for certain that we can get it organized for 2007, our lead organizer believes it's a very good possibility. Irena Goddard is in charge and can be reached at libertyforum@freestateproject.org. In order to make it happen, she and her team (which includes sidekick Jeff Jordan) will need lots of help. This event is likely to be in February '07 at a hotel, most likely in Concord, but exact dates and locations will be announced soon. The mission is the same as Porc Fest – a showcase of New Hampshire for the purpose of attracting libertarian activists here. The style will be very different though – more formal, hotel, conventionesque, and ... wintry! Perfect for those wondering if it's even possible to survive during the winter in NH (psst – it is! Come see for yourself!). More details to come here and elsewhere on the FSP website.

10. New Movers –  Last Corner, I reported on two groups of early movers. I have two excellent pieces of news! First, both groups did, indeed, arrive and were at Porc Fest (I didn't get to meet the 'Dartmouth area' family, but I spent some time with the others). The second piece of good news is that those two groups represent not two, not three, not even four, but five (!!!) early movers! Welcome to all of you! I expect to report on more new ones in the next corner!

President's corner - 2006-07-12

President's Corner

July 12, 2006

Message from the President

Events, the LP, and Concentrated Activism – Part 1 of 2

 

I promised after the Porc Fest that I'd resume the series I started in June. I will, but I'm going to interrupt to share some insights brought on by the LP Convention the first week in July.

It's been an exciting couple of weeks. Two weekends ago was the 3rd annual Porcupine Freedom Festival. Last Corner I linked to my welcome speech. This week, I'm announcing my Festival Review which can be found here. It's a bit of a long read. Hopefully it's a little less boring than my usual ranting.

In other events news, last weekend was the Libertarian Party (LP) National Convention in Portland, Oregon. Attendance there was roughly comparable to the Porc Fest the previous weekend.

Several questions came to mind when comparing the two conventions and the two groups. Both groups want more freedom. but they have two different strategies for achieving it. The LP is a libertarian political party seeking freedom through a national strategy of electing libertarians in the political arena. The FSP is a movement of libertarian activists seeking freedom through concentrated activism, both political (not tied to any single party) and non-political, in a small geographic area. After attending both events, here are some questions I thought might be of interest:

1. Can LP achieve greater electoral success while retaining some semblance of of idealogical purity?

2. Why does New Hampshire-based FSP have an exponentially higher percentage of activists than the national LP organization?

3. Does concentrated activism actually work in the LP or the FSP?

4. Does either the FSP or the LP have a strategy to solve the concentrated activism problem? Is it working?

This week, I'll cover the first two of those questions.  Here are the answers I came up with:

1: Can LP achieve greater electoral success while retaining some semblance of idealogical purity?

The LP is going through a transition. There is, before the party, a fork in the road. One group in the party believes it should stick to its libertarian principles at the expense of popularity (and, likely, electoral success). Another group in the party thinks it should soften and/or better craft its message in pursuit of electoral success.

The LP, complete with ideological purity, has not yet achieved significant electoral success. Though it has elected thousands of people to office, it has elected far fewer to partisan office, only a handful to State offices (none at the moment), and none to Federal office.

I submit that electoral success, regardless of ideology, happens only through concentrated activism. The problem for the LP, then, comes back to not enough LP activists and too many of the rest of the world. The LP is (errr, has been) ideologically libertarian and is a political party, but it's not the only party with libertarians in it. At a minimum, there are Democrats, Republicans, and Constitution Party people who subscribe to libertarian principles. Even added all together, libertarians are a minority today. Electoral success today is driven by concentrated activism by more-big-government people in more-big-government parties.

If the LP's goal is to elect LP Members (should it be?), there are only two ways I can think of for it to succeed. It could concentrate its resources on geographic areas (districts, states, etc.), or it could dilute its message to attract more activists. The former has been done to an extent (this year the Badnarik campaign is a good example) and has demonstrated measurable results (higher election returns). Though none have yet been elected to federal offices, it's plausible that, given enough concentrated resources, one could eventually. Diluting the message, on the other hand, may increase the chances of electoral success, but may simultaneously reduce the chances of electing ideologically libertarian people to office.

2: Why does New Hampshire-based FSP have an exponentially higher percentage of activists than the national LP organization?

An immediate observation is that the FSP is about 250 times more focused than the LP is on a national level. Both groups just had their largest annual gatherings with roughly comparable attendance. The LP's gathering of ~400 was focused on the entire U.S. with a population of about 300 Million. Representation wasn't exactly even, but it was close enough (New Hampshire's delegation was two people, I believe). The Porcupine Freedom Festival, with roughly comparable attendance, drew people from all over the world, but their focus is on New Hampshire with a population of about 1.2 Million. That being the case, the concentration of pro-freedom activism is unquestionably greater in New Hampshire than elsewhere in the U.S.

There are several reasons for the success of the Free State Project at generating pro-freedom activist concentration hundreds of times higher than elsewhere in the nation. First, the concentration of pro-freedom activists in New Hampshire prior to the FSP was likely among the highest in the nation. Second, the FSP is not a partisan project. Participants are free to participate in the political arena or choose other forms of activism (social, educational, economic, civil disobedience, etc.). Within the political arena, libertarians are choosing to use all of the different political parties for the purpose of getting elected without compromising their own ideology. Third, because it is small, the effect of activists moving from out of state has been more noticeable than it would be in a larger state. Fourth, because of the synergy of recently moved activists and already existing activists, pro-freedom natives who were not active before are seeing a hope they thought was lost and are joining the fight for freedom.

In many respects, the LP's strategy is the opposite of the FSP's. The LP is diluted nationally, while the FSP is concentrated in New Hampshire. The LP divides libertarians on a partisan basis while the FSP unites political activists based on ideology, not party. The LP singles out politics as its only strategy, while the FSP allows for people with multiple competing strategies to work together towards the same ultimate goals. The LP's strategy has led to too-few pro-freedom activists working in too few areas (politics), with too few allies, in a nation of 300 Million. The FSP's strategy has led to many pro-freedom activists working in many areas, with many allies in a state of 1.2 Million.

Next Corner, I'll cover questions 3 and 4. Stay tuned!

V-

If you have any suggestions or ideas for this feature, please feel free to send them my way.   Email me at president@freestateproject.org for the best quality response.

Recent FSP Activity

1. New Movers –  July 1st, yet another new mover arrived in NH.   Hard to believe, huh?   And, if my intel is correct, we have another arrival coming this week.  When I find out for sure, I'll report back!

President's corner - 2006-07-26

President's Corner

July 26, 2006

Message from the President

Events, the LP, and Concentrated Activism – Part 2 of 2

 

In the last Corner, I asked 4 questions relating to concentrated activism that came out of the Porc Fest and the LP National Convention. I answered the first 2 of those questions. Here's my take on questions 3 and 4. If you missed the first 2, they're archived here. Now, on to the next two questions.

3: Does concentrated activism actually work in the LP or the FSP?

It's important to note that the FSP Organization doesn't do any of the things I mentioned, and they're merely representations of what has happened, not recommendations or endorsements. It's FSP participants themselves doing that work on their own or with other organizations in New Hampshire.

 

These are a few concrete examples of what FSP participants have accomplished in New Hampshire in a fairly short period of time:

 

• FSP participants campaigned and voted against a 7-figure spending measure in a New Hampshire town. The measure was narrowly defeated saving taxpayers all that money. The margin of defeat was smaller than the number of FSP participants lobbying against it.

• An FSP participant took the simple step of asking questions at a town meeting. The result was several spending items totaling thousands of dollars being removed from the town budget.

• A bill restricting the property rights of operators of certain establishments unexpectedly passed the State House. FSP participants lobbied heavily against the bill in the Senate and the bill was killed which maintained those rights.

• FSP participants have been elected and/or appointed to several town-level offices including school board, budget committee, town selectman, planning board, and probably several others.

• A bill reducing education regulation was written by an FSP participant, lobbied for by FSP participants, and was ultimately passed into law as a direct result of the work of those people.

• FSP Participants successfully defended themselves against criminal charges intended to intimidate those people as they exercised their right to free speech.

• On several occasions, FSP participants have been challenged by law enforcement while exercising a basic legal right in New Hampshire. On every occasion, the Participants were successful in exercising that right without being found guilty of committing any crime.

• FSP participants have engaged in several persuasive acts of civil disobedience which have publicly highlighted the injustice in several bad laws. Those acts have been widely reported on both in New Hampshire and elsewhere around the nation.

• FSP participants founded a charitable organization designed to help meet the educational needs of parents who desire more educational freedom but cannot afford it.

• FSP participants founded a lobbying organization which supports pro-freedom candidates, opposes anti-freedom candidates, rates all bills which go before the legislature for their stance and impact on liberty, lobbies accordingly on some of those bills, and rates all of the legislators based on their votes.

• FSP participants founded a free pro-freedom biweekly newspaper available online and in print with a print circulation of over 5,000 copies per issue.

• FSP participants, both individually and on behalf of pro-freedom groups, are gaining positive name recognition and respect within the government. At Porc Fest, activists from several organizations related many anecdotes about state representatives not only being well aware of Free Staters, but actively soliciting their opinions and assistance on issues. They know who we are, and are paying attention to this growing cadre of libertarian-minded activists.

These are a few examples of ways FSP participants have worked to promote freedom, many of which have brought an actual measurable increase in freedom for citizens in New Hampshire. In my answer to the next question, there are a couple of examples of concentrated activism within the LP.

4: Does either the FSP or the LP have a strategy to solve the concentrated activism problem? Is it working?

The problem faced by both groups is the problem the Free State Project seeks to solve by design: too few of “us” (freedom seekers), too many of “them” (everyone else).

As far as I'm aware, the LP has no concentrated activism plan. Having said that, concentrated activism does happen within the LP. In 2000, the Carla Howell campaign for U.S. Senate tested the concentrated activism theory. I don't know how many activists worked on that campaign but it spent more money than any non-Presidential campaign in party history. I believe the number of activists was similarly large in comparison to other LP Senate campaigns. The result was the only 3rd party U.S. Senate election return above 10% in a 3 (or more) way race – double the next nearest LP example and higher than the Republican candidate in the race. The incumbent did win the election by a solid margin and was never truly in jeopardy of losing.  There was significant synergy, though, between Howell's campaign and a ballot measure to end the Massachusetts state income tax.  That measure actually came close to passing, earning about 45% of the vote.  Without concentrated activism, it's unlikely it would have done so well.

This year, another campaign shows promise of returning record setting results. Michael Badnarik, an FSP participant, is running for U.S. House in a campaign that already appears to be setting records. With about 4 months to go, they have already raised more than any LP House campaign in history. When Michael told me how many volunteers they have working on the campaign, I predicted immediately they'll have returns well above the 2-4% that the usual inactive LP campaigns get. If I'm right, he will have demonstrated again the power of effective activism. It's unclear what his opponent will do, but so far it appears his campaign poses a very serious threat to the incumbent – probably more serious than any federal campaign in LP history. All of this is possible only because of concentrated activism.

Even given those examples of concentrated activism within the LP, there are simply not enough activists to accomplish the LP's overall national goal now. Both groups just had their largest annual gatherings with roughly comparable attendance. The LP's territory covers 300 Million, the FSP's just 1.2 Million.

Free State Project's bottom-up, start-small, realistic concentrated activism design is actually causing stable pro-freedom activism - activism not based on a single campaign - and it's already delivering successful results. The freedom movement's resources might possibly be enough to significantly influence one state, and that has already begun here in New Hampshire. Concentrated activism does work. The question is, will enough pro-freedom activists join this most realistic plan and make it work?

The answer to that question is unknown at this point. There's great news, though. Now with two options (the original 20,000 Statement Of Intent and the First 1000 pledge), people can decide how many activists they think it will take to achieve a level of success worthy of participation. And if we don't get enough commitments, nobody is committed to moving. Of course, there are some who are ready to go regardless and they have given us all the evidence we need that this plan can succeed. All we need now is your help.

V-

If you have any suggestions or ideas for this feature, please feel free to send them my way.   Email me at president@freestateproject.org for the best quality response.

Recent FSP Activity

1. Direct Mail – Our first prospecting direct mailing in over a year went out on the 20th. Results should be coming in starting in a few days. I'll report back with the results when we have them. There are several more mailing lists we can mail to. If this effort is successful, we'll be trying to get those going as soon as practical. Thanks to Cary for making this happen!

2. New Hampshire Liberty Forum – The 2007 New Hampshire Liberty Forum has been scheduled! It will be held in Concord, NH, February 23rd – 25th, 2007. More details will be available soon. For discussion please see the forum. To volunteer to plan the event, contact Irena at igoddard@freestateproject.org.

3. We've Made The Move Articles – The short of it is, we need more. Have you moved to NH recently? I know many people have since I've been reporting on them in this column (in fact, there's even more a few bullets down). Tim Condon would like to interview you for an article for the FSP website. Previous articles can be found here. Contact Tim at tim@timcondon.net and share your story. I can't wait to read it!

4. Survey Results – The FSP survey is completed and a whopping 837 people responded. Wow! Our PR Firm has shared a summary of the final results and are already applying those results in several areas. Many thanks to all of you who completed the survey.

5. First 1000 group – The First 1000 pledge continues to grow in numbers, but not fast enough to meet our goal of 1000 signers by the end of the year. Instead of sitting on our hands and declaring defeat, we're doing something about it. Several actions are already being taken and more are on the way. We'll need lots of volunteers for some of them. Join the First 1000 group and let Sandy, our First 1000 project manager, know you're ready to pitch in and help this critical project succeed.

6. Merchandise – There's cool new stuff in the FSP store. Two items I'd like to feature are the FSP Flag and the FSP Disc. The FSP Flags are a hit. One flew over Porc Fest and the Oregon LP flew one at their headquarters during the LP National Convention (they may still be flying it... anyone from OR care to tell me?). The Discs are great for summer play and will be the official Disc for at least one event at Porc Fest 2007. Get your Flag and Disc now before they sell out!

7. New Movers – More new movers since the last update! Rumor has it a Florida Porc who visited NH during Porc Fest has moved to NH. I'm working on confirming that. Another Porc moved from OH to the greater Concord area. And rumor has it some Porcs are moving from MD to the Lakes region today! Did you help them move in? I bet I missed out on a fun time!

President's corner - 2006-09-04

President's Corner

September 4, 2006

Message from the President

Volunteer overload

 

I owe all of you an apology. My goal, though not a hard and fast 'rule', was to get the President's Corner published roughly weekly. It has now been well over a month since the last Corner.

So what happened? Quite frankly, I've been extremely busy. There has been a lot going on with the FSP, and I haven't been completely not working. For those of you who are volunteers in the organization, you've seen some of what I've been working on. However the rest of you are somewhat in the dark.

The fact of the matter is, we're all volunteers here in the FSP Organization. The fact that we're an all volunteer organization actually got a positive mention in Liberty Magazine recently. Though I, too, view it as a positive thing, there are downsides to being all volunteer, including having a volunteer President. In my case, I have a full time paying job and a business which takes more than part time. That, plus family, plus other things I enjoy doing winds up limiting the amount of time that I can devote to the FSP. Even so, I do have a considerable amount of time available and do my best to spend it wisely.

And I believe I'm not unusual. We're all busy. That's how life works. Defending liberty can be a high priority, but I'd never advocate putting it ahead of taking care of your family. Being responsible (usually including maintaining the job that supports you and your family) is an essential component to freedom. So while I ask people to volunteer, and appreciate the substantial volunteer efforts of dozens of people in the FSP Organization, I recognize that we're all busy.

What can help tremendously is having more people volunteer even a little bit of their time to help the FSP achieve its goal of 20,000 pro-freedom activists working together in New Hampshire. We need volunteers, and, especially, volunteer leaders. If you'd like to help, please contact Nik at volunteer@freestateproject.org. He'll point you in the right direction. And I thank you in advance for whatever you might be interested in doing to help the FSP.

Without further ado, on to the news!

V-

If you have any suggestions or ideas for this feature, please feel free to send them my way.   Email me at president@freestateproject.org for the best quality response.

 

Recent FSP Activity

1. New Hampshire Liberty Forum – John Stossel has been booked as the keynote speaker for the FSP's 2007 New Hampshire Liberty Forum! This will be the event of the winter for freedom lovers. In addition to Stossel, the NHLF will feature Sharon Harris of the Advocates for Self-Government and many other speakers and forums to be announced.  For more information, please see the NHLF webpage here.
2. First 1000 Press Releases – If you're a First 1000 signer, we want you! The FSP would like to seek media coverage of your impending move to New Hampshire. Already moved? No problem, we can use your help, too! If you're interested in being featured in media articles in your current and/or former hometown(s), please email Brian Gottstein at Gottstein@createpositiveimpact.com and he'll let you know what he needs from you to proceed.
3. First 1000 Promotion – The FSP recently sent out emails to ~5,000 FSP Participants encouraging them to sign up for the First 1000 pledge. I'm pleased to report that we just had our best week of new First 1000 signups since the first week of the pledge! Thank you Sandy, Chris, and others who worked on that project. We're also planning phone calls to FSP Participants, additional emails to FSP Participants, and direct mail promotion to both FSP Participants and new prospects to move us closer to our 1000-signer goal by the end of the year. There is also an ad running on Reason's website as well as elsewhere around the internet.
4. Media Coverage – the FSP and some of its participants have recevied lots of media attention since the last Corner update. Individual participants have been featured in articles in New Hampshire for various things including running for office, participating in civil disobedience, and attending a Live Free or Die rally. An article on legislative victories has been published here. The FSP's presence at the LP National Convention also received quite favorable coverage in Liberty Magazine this month, available online and in print.
5. Presidential (and other) Candidates – At least two FSP Participants are already vying for the LP's 2008 Presidential nomination. Long time LP activist George Phillies has announced his candidacy and comedian Doug Stanhope recently joined the fray as well. In addition, several other FSP participants are running for office, including some in New Hampshire who have already moved to the Free State.
6. Free State Activism DVD – a DVD has been produced which contains footage of some pro-freedom activism in the Free State, some of which involves FSP Participants. Additionally, there is footage from Porc Fest '05 and '06. The DVD is now offered for sale on the FSP website here.
7. Pledge Bank Donation Pledge – 53 people pledged to donate $50 per month to the FSP from July through December of 2006. Those donations would total $2650 per month for a total of $15,900 if everyone honored their commitments. In July we verified that we received donations from 23 of those people for a total of $3800, almost 50% more than expected! It's entirely likely that we have missed some as there are some people on the pledge whose names we do not know and some money received from unknown sources. An email is going out to all the Pledge Bank Donors to try to obtain better quality information about how successful the results are from this pledge.  If you donated, please let us know with a quick email to Varrin at president@freestateproject.org.
   
8. FSP Announcement – A birdie tells me the FSP is going to make a very important announcement on September 19th. It will be unveiled on the FSP website. Please mark your calendars and check back on the 19th to see what's a brewin!
9. Mail box – Fumble! I'd like to personally apologize for any inconvenienced caused by the inadvertent closure of the FSP's mail box last week. A miscommunication resulted in the bill not being paid. The problem has been resolved and the box is open again at the same address. If you received mail returned to you indicating “box closed”, please send it again to our address: Free State Project, P.O.Box 1684, Keene, NH 03431. Thank you, and I apologize again for any inconvenience this caused.
10. New Movers – Given the length of time since my last update, it should be no surprise that LOTS of people have moved to New Hampshire since then. I have credible information indicating 8 people have already moved. A 9th was scheduled to arrive a few days ago and I'm aware of at least four more within the next month. Here's the recap: one from TX to Keene, one from PA to the Manchester area, two to the seacoast, two to Campton, one from VT to Keene, one from TX to the Concord area, and one was scheduled to arrive from CA to Manchester this past week. Three are anticipated to move from FL to Keene sometime in September, and one is expected from CA shortly. There may be more that I don't know about, but if that doesn't get your blood pumping, nothing will!

President's corner - 2006-11-15

President's Corner

November 15, 2006

Message from the President

 

Recent FSP Activity

1. New Hampshire Liberty Forum – Register now for the most exciting pro-freedom event of the season! Eary bird registration is still open, but the prices will be going up very soon, so register today!  Speakers include John Stossel (ABC), Sharon Harris (Advocates for Self-Government), Jim Harper (CATO Institute), Jack Cole (LEAP), and Michael Badnarik (former Presidential and Congressional candidate), and many other speakers and forums to be announced.  For more information, please see the NHLF webpage here.
2. First 1000 Calls -  Over a dozen people have volunteered to make phone calls to FSP Participants encouraging them to sign the First 1000 pledge. The calls are underway and we've already had numerous people respond positively. We're going to call as many FSP Participants as possible. There's still time to help if you're interested in helping. Email Sandy to volunteer.
3. Media Coverage Time Magazine published an article on the FSP which can be found here. We've also had a fair amount of internet and newspaper coverage revolving mostly around activity in New Hampshire.  A notable example is the Union Leader's article about Joel Winters winning his State House seat.
4. Pledge Bank Donation Pledge – 53 people pledged to donate $50 per month to the FSP from July through December of 2006. Those donations would total $2650 per month for a total of $15,900 if everyone honored their commitments. So far (July through September), we've received at total of $6850 in donations from 28 of the signers. While that's a good result, there are several people who haven't followed through on their pledges yet. If you've pledged but haven't sent any and/or all of your donation in, please do that now before you forget. If you donated but don't think we know about it yet, please let us know with a quick email to Varrin at president@freestateproject.org.
   
5. Direct Mail - We're sending out a letter to all of our Participants and Friends encouraging them to 1) Sign the First 1000 pledge, and 2) Send in a donation. Why the additional pitch for money? The FSP has embarked on several projects that, frankly, cost money. Those include direct mail prospecting for new participants, paid advertising, PR expenses, and our events – Porc Fest and New Hampshire Liberty Forum. Without additional funds, we may have to make adjustments to our outreach plan. If you've already donated or are on a regular donation plan (you know who you are), thank you! We'd certainly be happy if you want to consider something additional, but please accept our gratitude for the generosity you've already shown. We hope many more will follow your lead in enabling the FSP to continue its outreach plan.
6. Goodsearch.com – Here's an easy way to help support the FSP. Go to GoodSearch.com for your internet search needs. Let them know you want to support the FSP and we'll receive money for every search you perform. It's easy to do – just type GoodSearch.com in your browser. In the second box labeled “Who do you GoodSearch for?” enter “Free State Project”. It's powered by Yahoo so you get great results and it's easy!
7. Volunteer and leadership training – The FSP recognizes the need for training for people volunteering for projects. Historically, we've relied on self-starting people to be creative, take initiative, and simply get the job done. We've had mixed results because some people are simply not naturally swimmers in the 'sink or swim' environment of volunteering without any training and very little guidance. Consequently, we're planning to have several different programs for existing and potential volunteers throughout the course of 2007. Most of them will be held at the 2007 Porcupine Freedom Festival. Details on the Fest are coming soon (yes, the check really is in the mail), but I wanted to 'tease' you all with the knowledge that we're aware that we need to do this. In addition to Porc Fest volunteer events, we're considering some form of leadership training later in 2007. If you'd like to help organize any of these important events, please email me.
8. New Movers –  I'm sure I've missed a whole bunch of people who have moved, but I did hear of some. They include one from KS to Manchester, the Free Talk Live crew moved from FL to Keene (see the picture to the left), four (two separate groups) from NY to Manchester, a couple from NJ moving this week, at least three from CA, and probably more I'm unaware of. In September at the Monadnock Porcupines meeting there were 7 new movers within the preceding 30 days who showed up for the group photo below. Exciting stuff eh?

7 of the people who moved in less than a month in August and September, 2006.