FSP News - September 2008

FSP News - September 2008

Liberty Forum Registrations Now Open

Registration is NOW open for the 2009 Liberty Forum. Take advantage of the special early bird pricing which includes 2 lunches and 2 dinners. Check out the speakers that have confirmed so far! All the details are at www.freestateproject.org/libertyforum.

FSP Outreach At Events

The FSP will be out and about in the next few weeks. If you are at any of these events take a moment and come by and visit the booth. The FSP will be at:

If you know of other events that the FSP should be at please email the Events Coordinator. Events are one of the best ways to get more people to join the FSP. If you can volunteer to man a booth for an event please email the Events Coordinator.

Protests at the Republican Convention

This MTV reporter's blog chronicles and contrasts the Rally for the Republic and Ripple Effect. For those who don't know, the Rally for the Republic is the first major effort of Ron Paul's Campaign for Liberty -- the kind of event where you're likely to find friends and members of the FSP, and where in fact the FSP was well represented. Ripple Effect was a concert staged by "liberal and progressive" activists.

There is one paragraph from that post that I think is particularly telling:

The Ripple Effect event highlighted an approach to revolution that seems a bit different from the Rally for the Republic's. While people at both gatherings talked about the erosion of civil liberties in the US, the Rally focused on the ways Americans can calmly use the freedoms we have to gain more freedom. At Ripple Effect, activists expressed their anger at the government, and railed against the abuse and injustice that exist.

That's something to be proud of, folks. Everybody can see what's wrong these days, but we know how to fix it and we're calmly and determinedly doing exactly that.

R3VOLution Road Trip: 2,844 Miles

By surrealpolichick

Viva la r3VOLution! Can't talk (hoarse from screaming: "End the Fed"), can't walk (soccer injury after Monday night's Nation Celebration -- you should see the other guy, well, she was an eight year-old, but all's fair in love, war and r3VOLution), can't believe the MSM coverage (USA Today, September 3, 2008: "Ron Paul Hosts Alternative Event... Hundreds of people..." Hundreds? What, are they blind as well as stupid?), can’t get the Aimee Allen song out of my head.

Ron Paul! Save our constitutional rights. Ron Paul! We're not gonna give up the fight! Ron Paul! Start a r3VOLution. Break down these illegal institutions!

Twenty-four-and-a-half hours in a white Windstar decked out with Ron Paul stickers and decals racing from New Hampshire to Minnesota. Five Freestaters, four drivers, three pillows, two video cameras, one cooler. Opening the Atlas for the first time: Holy crap, did you know Minneapolis is half way across the country? 1,442 miles, if you're counting. And, trust me, after a while, you're counting. Or at least, Red is.

Red is our GPS. She will murmur sweet nothings to you all through the night. "Keep to the right, in," pregnant pause, "two miles." When Red demands, "Keep to the left" in Chicago, she will mean it, and when you don't, she will punish you with an extended silence as exits flash by while she takes her own sweet motoring time 'calculating route.' She will seduce you with Pavlovian dings that, somewhere in Ohio, will make you flap your hands like flippers and bark like an otter. By the way, Ohio is, like, motherfrakking H-U-G-E, and nothing happens on the I-80 except to stretch and stretch and stretch, black asphalt, forever. What's the state after Ohio? Delirium.

Keep reading...

Freestaters at the Rally for the Republic and related events

Almost two dozen porcupines worked the crowd at the Ron Paul Revolution Rally in July and they did it again at the Rally for the Republic in the Twin Cities of MN over an extended Labor Day weekend. Free State Project participants attended various protests, marches, picnics, and virtually every Rally for the Republic related event but not before several porcupines on their way to MN from NH stopped at the house of Jason Osborne of Sakal / CAI for a beer and meat break.

Flyers were given out at the Liberty Parade, the final leg of the Great American Walk for Freedom, and several other events on August 31st. Virtually everyone at the Campaign for Liberty Leadership Summit received Free State Project and Free Talk Live flyers while at the same time a team of porcupines distributed bookmarks at Ron Paul's book signing event on September 1st. That night, all of the porcupines and thousands of Ron Paul supports gathered for a free Nation Celebration concert. Free State Project shirts and frisbees were sold near the entrance while flyers were offered to everyone in attendance. The Free State Project had a great booth at the September 2nd Rally for the Republic where Chris Lawless schmoozed with all of the other vendors and sold Free State Project gear. Porcupines manned the exits with flyers. Will Buchanan of Walk for Liberty took a couple days off his walk and made a guest appearance at the Rally for the Republic where he handed out Walk for Liberty cards.

Overall, the Free State Project activism was a great success. Many people heard of the Free State Project and the great opportunities in NH, over one hundred people decided to become friends of the FSP, and thousands of flyers were given out. For a more personal report of the activities check out surrealpolichick's blog (above) or the Ridley Report interview of Jon Maltz and do not forget to take a look at some photos of the events. If there are pro-liberty events in your area that you think the Free State Project should be present at, please email Chris Lawless.

Action of the Month - Friends and Enemas

They're the government and they're here to help. Friends help friends, right? So the government must be my friend. They keep me from doing unsafe things. They keep me from insulting other people. They keep me from making bad decisions. They keep me. I can tell it's true because lots of the bumper stickers I see agree. "Friends don't let friends drive drunk". "Friends don't let friends vote republican" (or democrat). "Friends don't let friends plant perennials". Poor grammar aside, I can tell the government is my friend because they don't let me do so many things. Having friends is good, right? Well, Friends of the FSP are certainly good. Chris's suggestion that we contact real friends of ours and suggest they become friends of the FSP is a very good one. Almost any liberty-minded individual should be a Friends of the FSP. Even those that feel we should not abandon the "lower 49" can see the utility of having a concentrated liberty bloc working to restore freedom. The movement toward freedom, as spearheaded by the Free State Project, will start in New Hampshire. It will clean, shine, and polish the already mostly Free State. From there it will flush through the country, rinsing the socialist matter that is so foreign to the American psyche. It will "blow the tubes" of the Great Ship America, sending the fascist fear-mongers flying into a past best forgotten. The Free State Project will Run through every channel in our country and then throughout the world, purging the back rooms and silent hallways of those that would bind us up with the chains of servitude. The FSP needs friends to make this happen. It needs movers, it needs shakers, it needs participants, donors, and speakers. It needs you. For without the help of real friends, true friends, the FSP will not be able to clear out the enslavers of man. They will build up and clog the highways with their enforcers and wards, they will swell the columns of those living off others, they will obstruct the path to freedom and congest the natural flow of liberty that moves mankind forward. So listen to Chris, he's a good man, and go get some friends, make some friends, be a friend to freedom and Liberty in Our Lifetime.

Merchandise

Show your colors! This election season we'll all see the banners and signs of the... well, let's be polite and call them "hopefuls". (You can fill in the blank yourself as to what they're hopeful FOR...) Anyway, it is possible to show them and everyone else where you stand politically. The FSP "Don't Tread on Me" flag. Fashioned after the Gadsden flag of our Revolutionary War fame, it will declare your independence from politics as usual. Don't forget our other fine FSP products available at http://www.freestateproject.org/store. 100% of all sales go to the FSP. (Note: hats are out-of-stock in all colors)

Join the FSP and help St. Jude Hospital!

Thinking about joining the FSP? Want to help children in need?

St. Jude Children's Research Hospital charitably provides health care to children with cancer and other catastrophic diseases, regardless of their ability to pay. They also do basic research.

If you join the Free State Project by Thursday, September 18th, the hosts of Free Talk Live will donate $10 to St. Jude's Hostpital! That's right -- for every person who signs the FSP Statement of Intent between now and Thursday, Free Talk Live hosts Ian Bernard and Mark Edge will donate $10 to this very worthy charity. Hear their on-air pledge here (fast-forward to 10:00 min.).

Liberty in our Lifetime... and help for children who desperately need it. Please, take advantage of this opportunity. Thank you, Ian and Mark!

Walk for Liberty Update

We've had an action packed month on the Walk For Liberty! About a month ago, a major piece fell out of our Subaru, the crankshaft pulley. We ended up being stranded in the small town of Forsyth, MT for several days. Fortunately, the people we met there were very generous and hospitable, and made us feel right at home.

We ended up having to get our car towed 100 miles back to Billings, MT. But one side benefit was that we were able to get TV coverage at the local NBC affiliate there. In fact, Brooke was featured in the clip!

The media train has been gaining steam ever since then. Not only have we been covered in numerous small town papers, but also in 2 larger ones: the Aberdeen American News and the Watertown Public Opinion.

In other news: a month ago we announced that Brooke and I are getting divorced.....from the state. We decided there's no reason we should have the state involved with our marriage. So after we move to New Hampshire at the conclusion of the Walk For Liberty, we will be getting a divorce from the state.

At long last I finally finished walking through Montana, in which I had been walking for nearly 2 months! I then walked through a sliver of North Dakota (on the first private transcontinental highway in the country, the Yellowstone Trail), and I'm nearly through walking in South Dakota as well.

We got a dog! While we were having our RV fixed in the town of McIntosh, SD, the mechanic who serviced our RV suggested we might need a traveling companion. He had a beautiful Australian Shepherd for which he was looking for a good home. He decided our RV was that home, and that's how we got our new dog, Jake. I'm intending to train Jake to walk with me along the way.

About a week ago, Brooke and I took a few days off from the Walk For Liberty to drive over to Minneapolis and attend Ron Paul's Rally For the Republic. I'm really glad we did, as I made many new contacts and had a great time. In fact, a lady I met at the Rally and her family ended up being the first guest walkers on the Walk For Liberty just a few days ago!

At this point I've walked approximately half way through the country. Since I'm walking over 20 miles a day now, we're planning on arriving in New Hampshire by the end of November. I'm looking forward not only to a successful last half of the Walk, but also to moving to New Hampshire and getting active there!

You can follow my progress on the Walk For Liberty either on my blog or on YouTube. If you would like to subscribe to the YouTube channel, you can do so by clicking here.

[Editor's note: The more media attention this astonishing endeavor receives, the better, so anybody who lives near the route he'll be taking could help out by calling their local media and informing them of the interesting story that's about to stroll through town.]

The Free State Project is an effort to recruit 20,000 liberty-loving people to move to New Hampshire. We are looking for neighborly, productive, tolerant folks from all walks of life, of all ages, creeds, and colors who agree to the political philosophy expressed in our Statement of Intent, that government exists at most to protect people's rights, and should neither provide for people nor punish them for activities that interfere with no one else. freestateproject.org

In New Hampshire

Featured Mover

This month's featured mover is Rich Angel.

Lebanon and Concord are "Dream Towns"

MSNBC compiled a list of the top ten "Dream Towns" in America. Two of them are in New Hampshire.

Free State Blogs

What's happening in New Hampshire with the Free State Project? Free State Blogs attempts to answer that question. Here's just a sampling of this month's blog entries:

The RidleyReport

Videographer, Dave Ridley from NHFree.com is one of our Porcs on the scene in New Hampshire. See some of what's happening in the Free State on the RidleyReport.

Check the NH Calendars

The NH Underground Calendar lists liberty-oriented New Hampshire events. The NH Liberty Calendar also tracks NH events. Check the calendars before a visit or a move - you are welcome to attend NH events!

FSP News Thanks & Statistics

FSP News circulation: 12,551. Back issues are available. Got FSP news? Please submit content by the 12th of the month. Thank you to all advertisers and contributors.

FSP Participants - here are some quick links:

  • Check out NH housing and other community & logistical information at NH Info

Are you ready to join the FSP, move to New Hampshire and work with us towards Liberty in Our Lifetime? Join here!

Participants: 8,615
Participants in NH: 568
as of September 13, 2008