Community Center

Week Seven

by Brian Wright (copyright 2005)

So many uncertainties when you walk out to hold hands with people on the leading edge of the freedom train. This week I've finished my business in Michigan, cleaning up some loose ends and prepping myself for an extended residence in the southern Free State hills. "Come Home to New Hampshire." (Someone at the festival thought this would make a good slogan, and I like it.)

Because of the uncertainties, pledgers and movers realize the nature of the choice they're making. It's a life-altering commitment, especially if you're accompanied by family. For almost anyone, though, the decision to be part of this project rises above practical benefit into a morality plane, where the focus is on the long-range conditions that make any practical benefit feasible.

Was talking to Steve Cobb and others regarding other leading libertarians' varying perspectives on the FSP. With exceptions, my experience has been many of the celebrities in the movement (including Harry Browne, Mary Ruwart, Carla Howell, to name a few) have been at best cool to Jason's concept. The same is true of the LP national leadership, I do believe, but I haven't read much in the LP News lately, whether it's taken an official position.

I also had the experience in Michigan of one local LP activist dissing the FS generally because apparently one FS representative in Michigan denied him a literature table one day—I think I mentioned this in an earlier column. He succumbed to a fit of pique, as it were. "Oooh, cocktails on the veranda, dear?" But what of the esteemed people I've mentioned who have major skin in the liberty game already? Is it a NIH (not invented here) thing?

Personally I've seen many instances of people wanting to stay comfortable as big fish in a small pond, then being averse to ideas or people that would make the pond bigger. In the case of FSP, the pond stands to become substantially bigger, which may make them feel unacceptably less vital to the future of freedom. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Also, the Free State is going to happen naturally, without a lot of repeat fundraising. My problem with several of the existing LP-peripheral movements is they continually tap the seed corn for sustenance, keep coming back to the well of stalwarts who always send money. Instead of self-financing through constant influx of new blood.

I'm pretty sure Free State solves the new blood problem, because you have so many willing bleeders, so to speak, on the ground. Relatively speaking that is. A great thing already about the Free State is you can fall out your back door any given morning, then turn around and join a meeting of libertarians or near-libertarians on the lawn. It was only that way for me back in Michigan during the Clark-Crane phenomenon (Ed Clark, LP presidential candidate 1980; Ed Crane, current CEO of the Cato Institute) roughly, 1975-1985. And I do love it so!

Why don't more of the elevated ones see FSP as complementary to their work, rather than detracting? Indeed, FS is a microcosm of what's going on nationally in any given organization. It stands to reason the Free State is the best soil for the growth of all these pro-liberty efforts. Because, relative to the surrounding population, there are so many of us! As Paul Gere mentioned to me at the festival, if we get 1,000 active people moving here, the state is done like a dinner.

That's true. According to the site, we have 377 here now. The political establishment in New Hampshire, such as it is, is already at the point of being unable to ignore all the pro-liberty people who continually "act up" through various groups. FSP is serving as the fireman stoking these groups with good, solid people. So we freedom people, especially the FSP, are close to the threshold of common public perception right now. Critical mass is just around the corner.

That being said, readers should know that in response to the letters I recently sent to my new senators and representatives at both national and state levels, not one responded. I had high hopes that when I returned from Michigan after three weeks, I'd be picking up several responses from these poobahs. My letters regarded the depleted uranium issue, which is potentially a massive public health problem. (Well actually, it already is a massive public health problem, it will become a catastrophic public health problem.)

And no one wants to even talk about it!

Scary, isn't it?

My point isn't to revisit the horrifying topic of DU. Rather I'm just sharing the observation that beyond the local town level, it you have an issue pertinent to general liberty, let's just say public officials aren't going to beat a path to your door to find out more.

New Hampshire has a land area of 8969 square miles with 1,235,786 people, per the 2000 census. This works out to approx. 140 people per square mile, of whom 377/8969 = 0.04 are FSP, let's say 1000 active liberty types are here = 1000/8969 = 0.11. So we have probably roughly one tenth of a libertarian per square mile!

What legislator or public official is going to give two hoots about a measly 1/10 of a libertarian?

But if you get that ratio to 20 or 30 thousand per 8969 square miles, that means you're going to have a full two or three liberty gadflies in every nook and cranny of the state! Believe me, that's going to make some movers and shakers out of these otherwise recalcitrant politicos. We'll have their full attention. They're going to need to do some real thinking and some real work to hold their crummy jobs.

Also, don't underestimate the effect on the media, on the information systems that typically block the flow of pro-liberty data both from the street to the reader and from the reader to the street. You think the Onion Reader will squash stories on the negative effects of government aggression on the people when 20,000 angry people threaten to use it for birdcage liner? Not likely. In the meantime, we early movers have to keep up the good work.

Talked with Joel Rauch, who runs the Merrimack Valley Porcupines, he's a young man, one of the earlier early movers. He shared some thoughts with me that early people are tending to be overloaded with more groups than they can properly support, either from the leadership or from the membership perspective. I know what he's saying, check out this wonderful page from the site. This gives you a lot of great information, especially about the pro-liberty groups who are working here.

It's impossible to support all of them effectively. And depending on one's goals, one may not be into any of them, or may want to start one's own. So a lot of these groups are going to seem low attended. Just keep in mind, the day is young. It's all relative. Back in Michigan, you have a tenth of the libertarian activity you have here, if that. Stay the course and develop individually as you wish, prioritizing your action so as not to burn out. Oceans of people are coming behind you.

Well, at least a tsunami or two. My friends, we are the thin edge of the wedge. The breaking open of the chains in New Hampshire is going to happen quickly in political timescape. Stand by for some serious excitement.

I don't have a lot more for you this week. My trip across Highway 90 was uneventful. I do want to comment on a peculiar New York state roadsign saying it's a state law to turn on your headlamps when you turn on your windshield wipers. Also, I believe in Pennsylvania it's a state law you have to turn on your headlamps in construction zones. (!) Does anyone issuing these Cider House rules really think people will take time to noodle them all out, much less conform to them?

Remember ignorance of the law is no excuse (unless, of course, the law you're ignorant of is the Bill of Rights).

By the way, here's a comical rule from our own Free State: I've joined the YMCA in Goffstown. In the locker room it tells you that it's a state law you have to take a shower before you swim in the pool. Good Gawd, what if I showered at home? They going to check up on me there? Is it a felony? These are important issues, folks, government at work for you.

Speaking of important issues, I find I do like the front license plate in New Hampshire. It's very artistic, as you can see from the following photo. See the vanity phrase: BWRIGHT, get it? As in "be right" with living free or dying. Oh well, you have to appreciate the laid-back subtlety of my approach to automotive signage. I don't want anyone here actually knowing who's writing all those letters nobody's reading or publishing.

I just don't think such an attractive license plate should be mandatory in front. When I finally receive my plates and am looking for attachment bolts, I go to a local auto parts store.

By the way, I think I've stumbled on another quiet truth of New Hampshire, at least southern New Hampshire: besides ice cream parlors and Dunkin Donut franchises, every third store is an auto parts supplier. I'll bet the Free State supports more than its fair share of—note, I did not say redneck—NASCAR aficionados. Funny, I never imagined oval-track race fans would go for the mountains around here; but it sure ain't Formula 1 they're interested in. Maybe some hard core rally (dirt surface and other irregular tracks) racing fans, I could see that.

Since the screws are for the back plate, I ask the young clerk at the counter, "Why front license plates?"

He says, "It's a communist plot."

"Well, what constituency could possibly support such a wasteful use of funds," I inquire.

He concludes, "Every law enforcement officer knows you have to have a front license plate to quickly identify a perpetrator as he's driving away from you."

(to be continued)

Week Nine

by Brian Wright (copyright 2005)

Getting a few nibbles on the joblines. Well, one, anyway, from the old conventional technical writing environment. Seems an EDI implementation for the Post Office—EDI stands for electronic data interchange, meaning basically paperless business documents—in the Bay Area of California needs to migrate to North Carolina. The IT (information technology) services firm rep calls me, and it seems they may be willing to incorporate a systems writer for the migration.

Most IT software developers love the idea of systems writing, of finding someone who can document what they've coded. It's like seeing their code broken by friendly forces for the benefit of people who use the product; revealing to the world what geniuses they, the coders, are. Not many systems writers exist, and you don't find a category for it on Dice or Monster. If you find someone to describe your system, 95% of the time the individual you get is either too technical without the writing skills, or too literary without the understanding of the technology. Thus, my standard niche isn't a big niche, but it's a niche I fill well when I find it. Things are looking up.

I get some help from a city administrator in Peterborough, a town that appeals to me for having multiple publishing firms where I can at least presumably get part-time work in the industry I ultimately plan to be part of as a creative writer. She's a sweetheart, actually welcoming me to the town! Toward that end I send cover letters/resumes to all the publishing-related firms around that town (approx 30). And I'm going to drive down there and walk around for a day next Wednesday. The personal touch.

I mentioned to readers of these columns, my creative writing ambition; I've shared the goal with others in the Free State Project. What I have in mind as my first "major work" (if another author wants to scoop me on this, please be my guest; the movement needs this healing idea put on the street really soon): a short semifictional account—I call it a novelette—of the successful struggle for liberty as told from 25 years into the future.

My political objective is indirect. By means of the book, I consciously intend to insert a meme—a meme is a piece of important replicating information—of the "sacred" nonaggression principle into culture. By establishing nonaggression as an overriding moral imperative and making it as powerful or more powerful than other common imperatives, e.g. "love thy neighbor," "have faith in God," and so on, we can set up the world for a much-needed long cycle of healing.

At that point, that is with the right fertile pre-mind soil thrown down, advice of down to earth masterpieces such as Mary Ruwart's Healing Our World, can grow fruit. For peace of mind, I spend a little demo time to satisfy myself I can write fictional passages. It may not be Hemingway, but think about The Celestine Prophecy, hardly celestial literature, but it sold tens of millions (and apparently it's even becoming a motion picture).

So that's it. I'm not working to a firm deadline, but I hope to have the discipline to make it happen—at least have it written—by the next Porcfest. Publishing alternatives are many, including a webpub. At the Keene Meet and Greet I attended, recall I mentioned Jim Maynard pointed me toward lulu.com. The FSP, in reality and in my novelette, is an extremely important piece of the future history of the successful struggle for liberty.

###

Early in the week I run into Crystal the new young neighbor lady from across the street; she's having some estimates made on paving by a few contractors. She and a contractor guy are walking over so he can take measurements on Cap'n Jack's side of the street, too. We get to talking and I don't think I scare her too badly by mentioning I'm here for the freedom people. It's just not a response she hears too often. This is getting to feel normal to me, going open kimono, just saying I'm here because of the Free State.

Also, early in the week on public television, I watch an interview with the living governors of the Free State. It's quite a remarkable evening, I feel an instant affinity for 90% of them. And John Sununu makes a fabulous point, to the effect it isn't the amount of the state taxes that is at issue. It's the fact that when taxes are not taken by the state—New Hampshire uniquely has neither a state sales tax nor a state income tax—people are more in control of their own lives and their own government. It's the epitome of self-government and the envy of the Western world. <— My words.

On Thursday Cap'n Jack and I head for the New Boston Tavern for a beer or three. It turns out to be the night the Red Sox clinch a 2005 playoff spot by beating the Yankees, while the Indians lose to the White Sox in the AL Central. The bar is hoppin' for our small upscale town. We strike up a conversation with John, who is a native New Hampshirite. He gives Jack a little grief for not knowing off the top of his head the six states in New England.

The natives are a blunt lot, they'll tell you straight up if you're off the map. But friendly.

Speaking of being off the map—and not to belabor a point—you can't give the natives snaps for directional sensitivity. I swear, even the latest DeLorme Atlas of the state roads is no defense against the misnaming and non-naming of streets in this area. My goodness, even on Mapquest I seldom come up with a red dot if it's off a numbered highway. Today I look for S. River Rd. in Bedford; it does not come up on Mapquest, and it is not identified on DeLorme. Turns out it's an alternative name of a short section of Daniel Webster Highway (I think).

So that really is an irritation you have to get used to.

Some notes:

At the tavern there's a local paper for Goffstown, New Boston, and Weare. Glancing at the stories, I note one that reports a rash of thefts in Goffstown. According to the story, "…most of the stolen items have been easily accessible belongings, such as wallets, purses, credit cards, and change. Most of the cars have been parked in driveways or on the street and none of them was broken into. DuBois [the local officer] said the vehicles have been left unlocked in nearly every case. 'Unfortunately, a lot of people leave their cars unlocked at night.'"

With valuables in sight!

Chances of an unlocked car within 50 miles of Detroit are nil.

On my way to the Merrimack Valley Porcupines meeting on Saturday, I'm thanking the gods for this particular Audi A4. For 70,000+ miles now it has not let me down with a single major repair need. I'm also glad to be here in the Free State for traffic reasons: you don't have obnoxious, ubiquitous signs of law enforcement oppression, such as "You Drink, You Drive, You Lose," "Click It or Ticket," "Don't Park Here, or We'll Shoot You Dead." The most oppressive traffic sign in the Free State is "Fine for Littering up to $250."

Further, I don't have any sense of a massive police presence that you get back in the Detroit world, and other instances of State State. I doubt there are any or many marijuana stings, no helicopters looking for wild strands of hemp, no dogs sniffing suitcases, no weapons checks at government buildings, no state task forces, few or no drug free zones, little or no police-state bullshit! This is such a relief, it's hard to overemphasize. I'm definitely going to make keeping it that way a high priority.

There is a speed trap in Mont Vernon; the town imposes a 30 mph limit down a long hill. You have to brake down the entire grade. "Hey buddy, watch it!" I give the oncoming cars the flashing headlamps in warning.

Thinking such thoughts, I'm unprepared for the sticker, "Troopers are your best protection," adorning some wreck in front of mine. Woman at the wheel. "Boy, lady, that sounds a little psycho. You must be an out-of-towner. Because that's just not the way we think here." I note I said we. This is the first time, after about nine weeks, I become a New Hampshire "we" as opposed to a New Hampshire "they." Wow! I'm one of us now, for sure.

On Saturday, I attend my first meeting with the Merrimack Valley Porcupines. Evan Nappen is also present, in fact, the first individual I start a yap session with. This is his "move day" and after the meeting, several of the attendees will be unloading boxes and partaking in a magnificent feast at his new digs in Bow. My impression of Evan—and he was a major player at the Porcfest—is as of Marshall Fritz, leader of Advocates for Self-Government: a force of nature.

In my humble opinion, Evan's arrival in the Free State signifies the beginning of the end of remaining vestiges of state power in New Hampshire. He's an attorney who defends gun rights, an activist at all levels in 2nd Amendment work, contagiously enthusiastic, and has the energy of 10 men. These qualities will accelerate the arrival of others from the FSP and, heck, I think Evan will make a great governor!

But personally I learn a lot talking with him about my situation with a nonaggressive felony having my gun rights taken away as well as making employment more difficult. Evan says that Charles Rangel and a group of representatives in DC have introduced a bill to expunge nonaggressive felonies from a citizen's record. (Rangel's a mixed bad—he's also introducing legislation to reinstitute the draft—but this "defelonization" movement is a boon to recovering liberty (and most likely a death blow to the drug war).)

Another idea he gives me is to join the Outdoor Writers' Association. I tell him I've never been much of an outdoorsman—unless you include golf in that category—but being in New Hampshire now, I feel I'm living in the country full time. I feel like taking up fishing or even hunting. He says, that's a perfect angle to do some freelance articles and get started. The Field-and-Stream-Guns-and-Ammo crowd is amazingly large with innumerable publications.

Speaking of the outdoors, on the way home I notice a lot of homes, even the ones approaching trophy-home status, have tents pitched in the yard. People here really do like the outdoors, and it must start young. (I assume the tents are mainly for the kids, and not the mother-in-law.)

The meeting is at Milly's brew pub in Manchester, hallowed ground I located on my first night this summer in the Free State. Probably not the most ideal setting for a meeting, the light's not good and it's a little hard to hear speakers, but the location is certainly convenient. And the company is outstanding, probably 30 beautiful souls arriving today. The weather's so good, on this Saturday afternoon, we surely lost a few attendees to Mother Nature.

Joel Rausch is the head ramrod of this organization, at least until the end of this gathering. (Sandy Pierre is unopposed as nominee for next year's leader.) Some formalities, then two speakers:

• Dan McGuire—speaks on behalf of the Granite State Ambassadors. The ambassadors, among other activities, serve as a source of knowledge of New Hampshire. Dan has several questions and token prizes for right answers. For example:

  • What are the four phrases used to describe the state?

    • A: Granite State, White Mountain State, The Mother of Rivers, The Switzerland of America

  • What is the state insect? (State insect?!)

    • A: No, not the mosquito, it's the ladybug.

  • Who originated the state motto, "Live free or die"?

    • A: John Stark (He's the Revolutionary War general responsible for acquiring the Molly Stark cannon, currently located in the common of the town of New Boston.)

  • There is more to the phrase. What were the remaining words of Stark's sentence?

    • A: "death is not the worst of evils."

  • What was the motto on NH license plates before "Live free or die"?

    • A: "Scenic New Hampshire." It was changed in 1971.

  Some other questions and answers, some upcoming events. Seems like a good way to make friends for liberty. Check out the GSA website.

• Steve Villee—talks up the fully informed jury movement. Formally the name has changed to the American Jury Institute (AJI). I didn't realize it, but two states now have laws that compel judges to inform jurors of their rights. Per AJI (and the US Constitution), as a juror you have the right to judge both fact and law, and to acquit defendants based on your own conscience. Most of you know the story of the jury movement, it's an uphill battle but we're starting to win it. If you want more info go to the AJI site. Extremely important work. Thanks a zillion, Steve.

A lot of interesting conversations, and these get-togethers are important for keeping up to date. I learn from Russell Kanning that a brave lady named Lauren is in jail for defying an order to leave a room in which a meeting of the New London, Connecticut, development association is being held—these are the guys who got the eminent domain ruling from the Supremes to expropriate private property for a private development project.

Several candidates tell us of their campaigns, particularly Norm Bernier running for school board in Concord, Karl Beisel running for Manchester school board, and Dave Mincin running for city council in Dover. I hope I got all that right. They can obviously use volunteer help, so consider giving it a go if you have the time, or maybe get your kids to contribute activity as a school project.

I had an idle thought to share: Remember the old leftists had a slogan "Power to the People!"? Well, I think we should claim that for our own, because that's what the liberty movement is all about, giving people control over their own lives and fortunes. Freedom people are the ultimate people persons.

Finally, a young man whose name I don't catch, announces a website with 247 gas savings tips. A young woman FS pledger named Maria came to visit; she's from Hawaii. You know when you start getting incoming from Hawaii, the Free State Project is a top notch idea. The meeting culminates with a sharing of birthday cake. October 1, 2005, is the second anniversary of the selection of New Hampshire as the Free State.

This is such a beautiful day, I walk around near down near the Merrimack River, wow! This is riverfront property that seems to scream for development of "a Walk"… but you darned well know it's not going to be accomplished by eminent domain!

What a great idea, a group of private developers come together, invest their own funds or gather them voluntarily from downtown businesses. We can create something really wonderful here. It reminds me what someone did in Oklahoma City, especially how they integrated the minor league ballpark (Oklahoma City 89ers) into the river walk architecture. The Fisher Cat stadium is within walking distance of Milly's.

I get to the New Boston area, decide to walk down the trail again. Then when I return home, Sky Cap'n Jack, who is also a Ritz Carlton trained chef, invites some folks to an impromptu dinner party. We later hang out with the neighbor couple, Crystal and Jessie, have a bunch of homebrew.

She's the teacher I met earlier in the week and a real sweetie, bright as a light. She really picks up on the reality thing, especially regarding the welfare system, and even the government school system. The double-edged sword of the government schools for good teachers: namely, the parents expect you to give their kids like you know "education," no matter what, while the taxpayers yell at everyone in the schools for unbridled waste.

That's also called wanting to have your cake and eat it, too.

(to be continued)

Week Five

by Brian Wright (copyright 2005)

Recall I mentioned that the pace of Free State and the pace of say, Montana, are similar. People don't hurry as much and in terms of driving, virtually no one climbs up your rear end as a matter of their daily motoring behavior. Is pace of life, a healthy rhythm or lack thereof, a function of population density, population composition, both, or something else entirely?

If you go by population density per state, New Hampshire ranks 20th at about 20 people per square mile from the top while Montana ranks 48th at about 1 person per square mile. Obviously, the much larger area of Montana, a lot of it uninhabited, skews the comparison when you do it statewide. All I can say is from experience, living in a small town like Bozeman or Belgrade, MT, feels similar to living in a small town like New Boston, NH.

You don't sense being hemmed in by people everywhere. A lot more elbow room. Driving through suburban Detroit areas this week, geez we got people everywhere. Dense-packed. It feels crowded. I'm pretty sure the sociologists have done studies that show bad karma—whether crime, stress, anxiety, accidents, fights, etc.—is exacerbated by population density. Imagine the effect in Southern California or New York City, or in the extreme, say, Third World cities.

When it comes to human population density, what's healthy?

My mom has always told me I was an easygoing, well-adjusted kid. But I would get uncommonly nervous and anxious, even start crying, in large crowds. Surely most people are sensitive to being pressed in upon by others. Part of the Free State's appeal has to be that masses of human beings aren't swarming you. Here, and in other lower-density areas, every individual becomes additionally special by virtue of the amount of space surrounding him/her.

So Free State has the quality of open space.

How long can that last? Good question. This is the classic conundrum we'll be facing as time goes by. To the extent our freedom from congestion is desirable. more people will want to immigrate for that reason alone, thus, at some point, possibly increasing congestion.

Every system has a limit to the number of individuals it can support without experiencing the overcrowding most of us would like to escape. Look at any white-flight suburb (WFS) surrounding big cities—by the way, WFS is largely a creation of eminent domain, federal highway money, tax policy, and subsidized mortgages—and you see how not to solve the problem.

I remember taking a drive one Saturday while I worked on a contract in Houston. Houston is a hub city, with wide circles of automotive pavement surrounding it; effectively, three of these rings are in place now. I picked a section of the second ring in the north where I knew the neighborhood would be affluently homogeneous. It took me an hour to travel five miles to the next spoke, where I hurried back south. I was suffocating!

This is another irony: reliance on automotive travel in big cities increases crowding. A good book on how the cities have been basically destroyed by the federal government (and its affiliate governments) over time, neighborhoods covered by asphalt, quality of life disintegrated, is Jane Jacobs, The Death and Life of Great American Cities. And the automobile, by virtue of state preference, is our fiat transportation (no pun intended). Reasonable, open-space market alternatives to one-man one-car are impeded by law.

Down here on Practical Street, I'm going to learn to do what I can to preserve the open-space feeling of the Free State. I'm wondering if I'll succumb to zoning or restrictive land-use policies implemented by the towns. Could be a dilemma. Obviously, any ideas readers of this column may have along these lines will be greatly appreciated.

In the long run, thinking of population pressure on the human race in general, we have to encourage a practice of quality vs. quantity in the procreation sector.

---

Note: At this point I went into "heavy columnist" mode for about three paragraphs. Backing off now, boss. We can deal with the whole "quality of humanity" issue some other day.

---

Like it or not, we Free Staters are representatives of the productive class. Producers are going to need to step up and make some important decisions regarding what to do about nonproducers. Here is an area where private initiative is sorely lacking, and the governments have created an illusion of humanitarianism. The response to Hurricane Katrina is grim evidence of the failure of the current system.

I look for Free State to make some imminent improvements to health, education, and welfare systems, mainly via government divestiture. Many regard the idea of taking HEW away from the state as mad ravings, but at one time many regarded the idea of freeing the slaves as lunacy, too. Guess what! We're on the leading edge of the reason-liberty movement, now, here. I believe these improvements are going to happen remarkably soon and quite quickly.

I want to end this week's ruminations by talking a little about ethnic composition.

Both Montana (91%) and New Hampshire (96%) are predominately white, and both have less than one percent black population and each approximately 2% Hispanic populations. Have opponents of the Free State Project pointed out the preference of the project for white-European regions? Don't some leftists want to tussle with us here?

The conventional wisdom has it that areas that are mainly white-European have less real crime, fewer sociological problems in general. A quick surf of the Web reveals little to confirm or deny the conventional wisdom.

Obviously, any scholar who produced a study that demonstrated conclusively a "more-white less-crime" thesis would be skewered by mainstream media. Posturing politicos would try to pass laws, kids would protest in the streets, the scholar's career would be in jeopardy. Personally, I think it likely a journalistic correlation exists between ethnicity and crime. That is a far cry from a causal connection.

If there is such a journalistic correlation, we owe it to ourselves to inquire as the reasons for it.

It is certain the drug laws have disproportionately destructive effect on minority populations. All the government aggression that keeps down minorities—especially the drug laws, minimum wage, forced government schooling, licensing and regulation rules—skews the data and our perceptions. My feeling is that race is a nonsignificant causal factor in real crime; rather a strong correlation exists between government aggression and race/crime. In other words, the amount of government aggression visited upon an ethnic group—especially "aggression for the group's own good"—makes members of the group more susceptible to social dysfunction.

What we find more in white-European communities in America is a traditional resistance to government aggression. Especially in New Hampshire we see this insistence on self-government, maintaining control of government by all the citizens at the level where we all live. Government on top of this self-government is largely viewed as aberrational. Less aggression, fewer social problems.

In other words, particularly in the Free State, we have highly functional, self-governing society. It happens to be mostly white-European because that's who founded it... and the day is still young! For the most part, that's where the historical ideas lie. Nobody needs to be defensive about this. Indeed, we have the privilege of extending the blessings of the freedom methodology—totally race-neutral—to all mankind. In the end, minorities will benefit the most.[~/1] Indeed, I look forward to the Free State becoming the multicultural haven/springboard for 21st-century freedom lovers.

[~/1] Remember what Rand said, "The smallest minority in the world is the individual. Those who deny individual rights cannot claim to be defenders of minorities." More positively, those who advocate and defend individual rights are minorities' true champions.

(to be continued)

Week Ten

by Brian Wright (copyright 2005)

Well, most fronts. The job search and the relationship angle seem to be coming together quite nicely… at last! That's the important thing, isn't it? You need to have a base of operations before you can operate much. On the liberty-work angle, I wasn't as engaged; but I did finally go to the "Atheist Dogooder" topic in the Religion and Liberty forum and put in my two cents with Rocketman and the others.

So you can say I got down with the real people a little bit.

It's time to get the auto insurance taken care of.

Free State has a rule that if your car has a lien, you have to be covered with appropriate liability insurance. But it isn't something they ticket you for, and the auto registration and drivers' licensing process avoids the bureaucracy of mandating it (which I believe is unique in the US). If you are uninsured, your car has a lien, and you incur liability from an accident, that's when the lienholder can take you to the cleaners. But the state leaves you alone.

My new insurance guy, Bob Hayden in Goffstown, tells me in some states, such as Vermont, you have to have proof of insurance regardless of the state you're licensed in. Which sounds a bit statist, doesn't it? You think the Supremes will ever get a case that challenges the Vermont traffic-enforcement Gestapo; if they do, do you think the Supremes will issue an injunction to stop this aberrant, antisocial behavior from an adjacent dictatorship? Nah!

Anyway, my insurance, same coverage as back in Michigan, goes from ~$150 per month to ~$75 per month. So hmmm, let's see, which system do you think the average motorist prefers? I don't know how much of the savings is due to not making insurance compulsory. Way cool, I finally get it out of the way. And meet people, too. I mention to Bob that I'm a libertarian and that's why I'm asking all these questions about how we do things here.

He says a libertarian is going to like the system here a lot better than most states. We keep up the chitchat, and I mention I'm looking for work as a writer and heading over to Peterborough, because I've heard that's where the literary types hang out. I even tell him, "When I finally get established, I plan to buy a plot and put an earth-sheltered dwelling on it." Well, guess what? Bob has an earth-sheltered home! I think he'll let me borrow the plans.

Also, he shares with me that it's better to live on an unpaved road—I believe he called it Class 6—since it legally limits development more than if you live on a paved road. "Okay thanks," I say, "I'll definitely keep that in mind."

Next day, I do run into a NH dipwad at the Kinko's in Bedford. Let's just call him Chad. I'm calling to have business cards made for my trip to Peterborough, and I want to send my file via email in PDF (portable document format) and work with a project manager to get the job done. Wrong! Must use the Kinko's website. Well, the website isn't working, and it isn't me. Chad insists it's my problem, but he'll take the job via email this one time.

He has this New England accent, and this attitude like "let's see how I can make it difficult for ol' Brian to do business with us." His negative persona doesn't jibe with my impression of most New Hampshire people, so Chad must be a Massachusetts import. And to top it all off, Kinko's does a ratty-ass job on the cards.

Odds and ends Monday and Tuesday:

• Starting to get some calls for legitimate contract work, e.g. techwriting for an insurance operation in Portsmouth.

• Run into the neighbor lady, Crystal, at this new wellness center in New Boston; this is a good-looking facility—and so is the wellness center— and it's close. I might consider at least a Pilates class. Hours though don't include Sunday, and for the time being I'm keeping the Y membership.

• The NFL channel has a special about Brett Favre (Green Bay Packers quarterback). Then on Monday Night Football, Brett makes an heroic effort against the Carolina Panthers, with four touchdown passes, but comes up short of victory.

• Tuesday I'm working the book, doing a freelance piece, sending out resumes, organizing the paperwork. Lawnmower Man—this is my other nickname for Cap'n Jack, who spends every available hour trying to mow the jungle growth on the lawn with what looks like a toy lawnmower—is off to fly the frenzied skies.

• I finally receive a reply from one of the legislative officials to whom I sent letters regarding the depleted-uranium poisoning issue. Senator Judd Gregg is so kind to confirm H.R. 202 is going through the House, and if it gets to the Senate for debate, "I will keep your thoughts in mind." I guess this means he doesn't regard DU as a humanitarian emergency.

On Wednesday, I travel 25 minutes and 17.5 miles to Peterborough, an artistic Mecca of New Hampshire. The purpose of my walkaround is to meet potential clients or employers, and to distribute my resume and business cards. It's a lot of walking, I have a DeLorme city map, my Daytimer, 20 business cards, 20 resumes, my tape recorder, my digital camera, and my cell phone (mobile-phone reception via Verizon isn't any better here than in New Boston).

Peterborough, set around the intersection of the Contoocook and Nubanusit Rivers, has a long, vibrant history. During the Civil War era, it was receptive to abolitionist activists such as Frederick Douglas, and served as a depot on the Underground Railroad. In 1907, the MacDowell Writers' Colony was founded; artistic/cultural connections exist between Peterborough and Boston/New York. Thornton Wilder wrote Our Town during his stay at MacDowell. In 1938, the Great New England Hurricane caused serious flood damage to the region. Several preventive damns and waterways have been built since.

During the walkaround, I find myself close to the galleries, boutiques, and bookstores that give the little downtown such charm. Here are a few photos:

Through the decades, two newspapers have coexisted in the town: the Peterborough Transcript and the Monadnock Ledger. Considering the small population, it's rather amazing both could be supported all that time. I leave a resume and business card with each; I wouldn't be surprised when this whole Free State job search is said and done, some kind of journalism is where I find myself. The day is warm, though beauteous. I'm done with work. It's Miller Time; I've seen my landing zone in the form of a quaint little pub named Harlow's.

The Smutty Nose India Pale Ale (IPA) is cool and refreshing. I strike up a conversation with a young man who's arrived on my left. His name is Mike. Interesting guy, drives a Zamboni™, you know one of those hockey-rink ice smoothers. Loves it. He says he's also working on a historical novel about someplace along the Canadian border. His brother, who goes with him on epic bicycle trips, is the chief of police in Temple/Greenville, so I chalk that up in my noggin to namedrop in case I ever get pulled over.

Mike claims that contrary to my experience of not feeling any oppressive police presence in the Free State—naturally I explain to him all about the FSP—New Hampshire has more police per capita than any other state. I check out his claim of NH police per capita on the Web as I write this piece, and he has to be thinking about some other statistic. New Hampshire has 1.6 police officers per 1,000 population vs. an average of 2.3 across the United States.

However I do see two signs today that suggest some unnecessary intrusion of the police power:

One of them is a "Drug-Free School Zone" sign noted on my walkaround—two things make such signs ludicrous: 1) the mindless hysteria of the war on "drugs" doesn't suggest what drugs the zone is supposed to be free of, e.g. caffeine, aspirin (!?), and 2) does anyone truly believe a sign against something prevents it. How about we put up a sign "Stupidity-Free Zone" to improve children's scholastic performance?

The second sign is in the bar. I regard it as rather obnoxious: "We confiscate all false identification and report all illegal activities to the authorities." This apparently means if you fill out a football betting card, the bartender circulating the card will rat you out to the gendarmes. Again, I don't see much chance of that. As for underage drinking, just don't serve anyone drinks if they are obviously not mature enough to handle them. Self responsibility works much better to keep people sane and civil than criminalization of consensual acts.

All right, enough of the soapbox. Mike moves on and a very nice-looking woman considerably south of my age bracket sits a couple of seats down on my right. Emily is her name, and I'm on my third IPA so naturally she's becomes enthralled with my smooth, debonair manner—I pretty much let people know right out of the chute about the freedom thing in New Hampshire.

Well, it works! She actually moves without me asking her to sit directly beside me, and we conduct scintillating repartee for another slowly sipped beer. What I like about Emily is she's really into reading books. Well, that and some other things. Peterborough in general seems full of eye candy. I'll get a job, and in the immortal words of Governor Arnold, "I'll be back."

On Friday, there's a lot of encouragement on the job front. I interview with the president and owner of a small software firm about seven miles down the road in Amherst… the idea being to do technical and company-image writing. Also, a repeat of a former contract opportunity in Waltham, Mass., pops up; this time the recruiter seems truly eager to get me under contract. I get some help from my ex and from a writer colleague back in Michigan to handle the prejob dance sequence at the software company with a modicum of sophistication.

Cap'n Jack, as I think I mentioned, is a former chef. He likes to have people over, so it's very special getting all this wonderful food and terrific company, mostly of the young professional variety. Fertile soil for "just folks," "Freedom to the People" seeds of thought.

I communicated to a couple of my FS intellectual comrades that I'm increasingly getting a vision these days. Specifically, within the next two years, i.e. before 2008, I see Mary Ruwart and her Healing Our World book (and possibly even me and my own little novelette in progress) being household names. Certainly, Jason, Amanda and the Free State Project will be common knowledge.

The end of the national-security state and toxic war-criminal government is just around the corner, not to mention the irrational superstitious and terrorist movements that contribute to them.

---

Disclaimer: The forgoing is only my humble opinion and does not reflect any official thinking or position of the FSP.

---

Well, I have two more chronicles to go. Let's hope the series leaves the gentle reader with a conclusive and helpful understanding of the FSP "early mover on the street," or late mover for that matter. You should be aware of several of the practical issues you'll face, as well as the opportunities and pleasures of being here, from a commoner's perspective.

(to be continued)

Varrin & Edi Swearingen

We Made the Move! – Varrin & Edi Swearingen

Date of move: October 25, 2004

Reported by Tim Condon, FSP Participant Services Director

Two of the Free State's newest Porcupine residents have a secret: "We originally opted out of most of the states, including New Hampshire, because we could not commit to moving to them without taking a tour and giving it more serious consideration," recounts Varrin Swearingen, who lived in Fresno, California with his wife and two children up until recently. "After the vote, we took a week and a half trip to New Hampshire," he said. "In late November 2003, we decided to move to Keene, NH. The move was to take place in October 2004, and was accomplished right on time."

Meet Varrin and Edi Swearingen, refugees from the Peoples Republic of California, who "made the move" with their two children, Edison (age 4) and Erin (age 3), in late October 2004 to the Free State of New Hampshire. Although they had originally "opted out" of New Hampshire, that quickly changed. "Once we toured the state, we began working on the move as soon as practical," says Varrin. "It took roughly a year from the time we decided to move to the time we arrived, partly because we decided to build a house in New Hampshire, as well as because of work and other schedules."

It wasn't a hard decision for Varrin and Edi to move early, even though as FSP members they're not obligated to move to the Free State until after the organization reaches 20,000 participants. "We decided to move now because we were ready to get out of California and begin working in a less futile environment to promote liberty," explains Varrin.

Prior to the great state vote, he says, "We researched New Hampshire and the other candidate states extensively. After the vote, we took a week and a half trip to New Hampshire and that sealed the deal." During that time, in November 2003, they "drove all around the southern one-third to one-half of the state."

What was their first impression of New Hampshire? Says Varrin, "Favorable. The attitude is noticeably more liberty friendly, though there is certainly a need for the FSP. No state is libertarian, but New Hampshire is better than most. The scenery was beautiful, the roads were well-maintained, shopping was suitable, and there are a variety of sizes and styles to the towns. We were able to find something that fit our personality well."

What was the weather like when they visited on their exploratory trip in November? "The weather was variable but not very warm," says Varrin. "It was only noticeably cold-near or below freezing and/or windy-only a couple of the days. There were rainy days, clear days, calm days, windy days, and everything in between. The variety was nice, and the cool clear days were stunning." As for the winters, Varrin notes that central California where they moved from is "hot and dry. It rarely freezes there, and even more rarely snows. However, we lived in northen Kentucky near Cincinnati for several years, so we have at least lived in the snow before."

"I believe the weather in Keene will be colder and snowier, but overall nicer than the Cincinnati area," he continued. As for the supposedly fearsome winters in the Free State, Varrin says, "My stock response to the concerns about the cold is that they do have heaters in New Hampshire. We had our builder install heaters in our house, and our car, which we bought in California, already had one installed in it. Imagine that! So far the weather inside has been a comfortable 71-74 degrees."

Varrin is an airline pilot who will continue working for the same company, while Edi has a Mary Kay cosmetics business that she's already working on expanding in New Hampshire. While visiting and exploring, they met lots of other liberty-lovers, including Kelton Baker (then the President of the FSP), Amanda Phillips (now President of the FSP), and Alan Weiss (former VP of the FSP), not to mention other Porcupines from Derry, Keene, and Hudson.

Why did they settle on Keene as a place to build their home (a custom two-story colonial; "of course we love it, since we designed it")? After all, with his airline job, Varrin must fly in and out of Manchester. "While it's a longer drive from the Manchester airport than I desired," Varrin explained, "Keene has everything else we wanted in a place to live. Cost of house was a major factor, as was shopping, suburbia, eating out, and other creature comforts. In the end, we decided we would rather have lower cost, higher quality house, and meet all of our other needs, than be closer to Manchester."

Any new friends in the Free State? As always, the answer is resounding. "Yes! Many. They are scattered about, but several of them are in Keene," Varrin says. In addition, he met tons of Porcupines in the summer before their move. "At the Porc Fest I met a lot of them. It's probably impossible for me to name them all right now. We love 'em all!" He and Edi were also delighted to find that the freedom-lovers they met in New Hampshire are "surprisingly normal, for libertarians" (Varrin says with a wink). "The most noticeable favorable trait is the desire to actually do something positive rather than sit around and argue about what to do or how to do it."

The couple also found willing hands to help them move in once they got to Keene. "Big, big, big thanks to Kat and Kira Dillon, Dawn Lincoln, and David Murray, for the help moving in," says Varrin. In addition, "Double thanks to David for taking about 800 pictures of our house as it was being built, so we could watch it go up from afar." Varrin and Edi also hired their realtor's nephew to do most of the work of unloading the truck. They did excellent work for a reasonable price. Varrin recalls, "This is our third move into a new house in eight years, and the first time the load in was completed without dinging the walls or staining the carpet."

There were also some happy surprises for Varrin and Edi as they settled into their new house in Keene. "It was refreshing to hear this question," says Varrin. "'So who are you going to have pick up your garbage?' Having dealt with city garbage in Florida, Kentucky and California, it was music to my ears to hear that there's no monopoly trash pickup in New Hampshire."

"Also," he continued, "I've noticed many businesses here operate 'smaller', so they're more family and customer oriented. For instance, on our first full day here, Edi had to have a tooth extracted. The kids were sleeping in our hotel room, so I couldn't pick her up. So one of the people in the dentist's office gave her a ride back to the hotel. That would never have happened in California."

How will Varrin and Edi work to reduce the size of government in the Free State, as all Porcupines intend? "We'll be working on delivering the liberty message to the Christian community in New Hampshire," he says. "I'm also looking forward to the town social and recreational events. Even though Keene is roughly one-twentieth the size of the Fresno area, the atmosphere here is cozy yet lively." He's also looking forward to trying to hook up with a band in the Keene area (he plays mostly jazz drums), and figures he and Edi will be hiking and mountain climbing in the summers, while skiing in the winters. ("I've skied twice and enjoyed it quite a lot the second time," he said.)

Overall, the portents are good, Varrin and Edi feel. "We embrace change for the better," says Varrin with a laugh. "We radically embrace radical change for the better! Freedom is like good health. You don't appreciate it until it's gone. For the health of your family, it's worth it to live and promote freedom in a place where you can make a difference. As a result of the Free State Project choosing New Hampshire, this is now the finest place in the world to do that."

"Come and take a tour," he counsels. "Meet the people. Look for houses and jobs. Explore the towns and enjoy a family vacation. Then when you go home, start packing!"

Back to We Made the Move!