The 2008 New Hampshire Liberty Forum
For Immediate Release
January 6, 2008
PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES MEET FREE STATERS
Nashua, NH - The final day of the 2008 Liberty Forum
started early and featured a presidential debate, sessions on working
with the NH GOP, citizen activism, the constitution, and making the move to
New Hampshire. "Moving liberty forward also means meeting face to face
with the current and future political leaders of our state and the
nation, so we're very happy to have all the candidates at the Forum to
share their message with the Free State Project", said Forum organizer Chris Lawless.
The final day of the Forum saw more than 400 attendees, surpassing last
year's attendance by a third.
The morning featured a two-hour presidential debate among five Libertarian
Party candidates - Daniel Imperato, Michael Jingozian, Alden Link, George
Phillies and Wayne Allyn Root. Questions came from the moderators, the
audience, and each other and covered a full range of issues. The
candidates talked about the conflict in Iraq, taxation, spending, foreign
policy, the environment, infrastructure and the promoting the Libertarian
message. Candidates talked about why they were the best choice, their own
campaign for the nomination, and their plans for the general election should they win the nomination.
The other popular session was a panel made of Free State Project members
who have moved to New Hampshire, highlighting the challenges and successes
of making the move and getting acclimated to their new home. They fielded
questions from the audience of likely movers as well as hearing other
advice from natives who offered to help in any way they could.
The keynote speaker for the closing ceremonies was Congressman Ron Paul,
who drew a capacity crowd of nearly 500 people and dozens of media
outlets in the hotel ballroom. He talked about his campaign and thanked
the hundreds of volunteers in New Hampshire and those who've come to the
state to help the campaign. His speech garnered lots of applause,
particularly his message of a sound monetary policy, bringing the troops
home, cutting spending and returning the GOP back to its conservative
roots. Dr. Paul told the audience that there is no need to give up liberty in order to provide security for America.
The Liberty Forum ran from January 4th through 6th at the Crowne Plaza in Nashua. The Forum featured speakers on a variety of topics ranging from
drug policy to immigration to taxes to the morality of liberty. Full
details are at http://www.freestateproject.org/libertyforum
###
For Immediate Release
January 5, 2008
PORCUPINES TALK POLITICAL PARTIES, ACTIVISM, GUNS AND TAXES
Nashua, NH - The second day of the 2008 Liberty Forum
started early and covered working with political parties, citizen
activism, the law, taxes and being a better advocate for liberty.
"All these topics are important for moving liberty forward, which is the
overall theme of the forum. You have to know how the system works in
order to change it." said Forum organizer Chris Lawless.
The day saw attendance surpassing last year's, with more than 350
attendees registering for the various speakers, lunch sessions and keynote dinner.
The morning sessions included working with the Libertarian Party of New
Hampshire and a presentation by Dr. Jim Lark, former chairman of the
national LP. Lark's presentation was "avoiding knee-jerk libertarianism"
and highlighted that Libertarianism is "being a good neighbor" and that
the burden of proof must be on the statists to show that their programs will actually work. Dr. Lark said that "getting people to think is the way to bring them to libertarianism."
Tyler Sterns, the 18-year old NH Liberty Alliance activist of the year,
talked about his own experience getting involved in politics and his run
for the statehouse. There were two sessions on the law, the IRS and income
taxes, by Peymon Mottahedeh of the Freedom Law School, and by Jeff
Dickstein, attorney and author of "Judicial Tyranny" who outlined Bill
Benson's effort to show the 16th Amendment was never properly ratified.
The afternoon panel on the 2nd amendment and gun owners' rights was by far
the most popular panel of the day. Rep. Dan Itse discussed the early
history of New Hampshire and the importance of it's government structure.
He said "New Hampshire is the crucible of liberty," and explained why.
There was also a special session with Wayne Green, founder of "Byte" and
"NH To-Do" magazine covering simple solutions to many problems, focusing
on natural health and current legal restrictions preventing health and
food choice.
A popular session was Jim Babka of Downsize DC, making his second
appearance at the Liberty Forum. Attendees were very interested in the
organization's "Read the Bills Act" and "One Subject at a Time Act," both
of which aim to make congressmen know more about the laws they are
passing, the former actually requiring them to swear they read the bill
before voting on it. He pointed out how the media willfully ignores
important stories about liberty and their new "Operation Everywhere" to
put the pro-liberty message in the public eye and keep it there.
Prometheus award-winning author F. Paul Wilson talked about his "Repairman
Jack" series and new novel as well as discussing "freedom-based"
literature in general and his own experience being a Libertarian back in
the 1960s. Ed Hudgins of the Atlas Society talked about the moral
imperative of liberty and the need for moral arguments to advance freedom.
A full exhibitors' hall featured many local citizens groups, a job
placement agency, political parties and silver merchants.
The keynote dinner speaker, Senator John Sununu, was very popular with the
attendees, particularly for his help on stopping New Hampshire's
participation in Real ID. Sununu talked about his own legislative work on
privacy, reducing regulation and cutting taxes. As well as working in a
post-9/11 Washington and standing up against his own party on civil
liberties issues. His announcement of being the lead sponsor on a bill to
repeal Real ID drew a long round of applause. He said "Freedom is
threatened by the constant effort to tax, tax, tax." and that "New
Hampshire is the best state to live in because it has the lowest tax
burden."
The Liberty Forum continues until Sunday at the Crowne Plaza in Nashua.
Full details are at http://www.freestateproject.org/libertyforum
###
For Immediate Release
January 4, 2008
PORCUPINES TALK DRUGS, ACTIVISM, IMMIGRATION AND REAL MONEY
Nashua, NH - The first day of presentations for the 2008
Liberty Forum covered the broad themes of the War on Drugs, citizen
activism, school choice, immigration and real money. "All these topics are
important for moving liberty forward, which is the overall theme of the
forum", said Forum organizer Chris Lawless.
Over the afternoon, attendees had the choice of presentations, covering
drugs, activism and immigration. The session on the War on Drugs was led
by Peter Christ, former undercover narcotics officer, who highlighted the
origins in the government policy and what it has done to policing in
America. In short, it has made everything worse.
Those interested in citizen activism at the federal level could hear Bob
Schulz of We The People, which currently has a writ in front of the U.S.
Supreme Court being heard today to hear a case to validate the right to
petition for redress of grievances against the government; the Court will
issue its decision on Monday morning. The writ was filed after all prior
petitions concerning the income tax, the Iraq war, the Patriot Act and the
Federal Reserve were ignored by the federal government.
For more local activism, Don Gorman, former state legislator and political
director of the NH Liberty Alliance, gave a stirring appeal for people to
move here and how they can become effective activists right away. Carla
Howell of the Center for Small Government, discussed the ballot initiative
in Massachusetts to eliminate the state income tax and what effect that
could have on the rest of the country.
The panel on Education Choice covered homeschooling, private schools and
public school choice. Gardner Goldsmith discussed the history of
immigration laws and the repeated arguments of the 1800's being used
today against foreign workers. He outlined his federalist position to let
the states handle immigration rather than the federal government, since it
has no constitutional authority to do so.
Rounding out the day was a session on the NH real estate and job market,
which is a primary interest to the many would-be movers. Artist Peter
Bagge of Reason Magazine related many funny stories of his journalistic
endeavors.
A full exhibitors' hall featured many local citizens groups, a job
placement agency, political parties, presidential campaigns and even
silver merchants.
The keynote dinner featured Bernard von NotHaus, founder of the Liberty
Dollar. He spoke about sound money, and how "we cannot gave good
government without good money". He pointed out that the last time the
global economy collapsed was the fall of Rome, which resulted in 1000
years of no liberty and no money, and how we are headed for a similar
disaster if we do not take control of our money. "We are Americans. It is
our duty to fix it" he said, stirring the crowd to applause.
NotHaus also announced that the Liberty Dollar is still in business with a
new 2008 minting featuring an MSRP and a private barter currency marker.
He said a $1 silver liberty from 1999 recently sold for $700 on eBay,
showing the huge demand for an appreciating currency in contrast to the
depreciating federal reserve note.
The Liberty Forum continues until Sunday at the Crowne Plaza in Nashua.
Full details are at http://www.freestateproject.org/libertyforum
###
For Immediate Release
January 4, 2008
NEW VISION FOR FREE STATE PROJECT, TIPPING POINT FOR LIBERTARIANISM
Nashua, NH - The first day of presentations for the 2008 Liberty Forum covered several broad themes and brought together members, speakers and activists from across the country and across the world, with attendees coming from as far away as Hawaii and Australia.
At the opening ceremonies, FSP President Irena Goddard related her own family's story of escaping Communism and the parallels of her later journey as part of the Free State Project. She then announced "FSP 3.0" which will let members decide their own threshold for making the move, be it the election of a certain statist politician, the imposition of "universal health care", or the number of participants. "The goal is to refocus on the members themselves, who are really what drives the Project and its success." said Goddard.
This initiative was modeled on the successful "First 1000" project to commit 1000 members to move to New Hampshire by the end of 2008. So far, 508 members reside in New Hampshire. The new membership thresholds will be rolled out in January.
The opening ceremonies also featured Sharon Harris, of the Advocates for Self-Government, showing how Libertarianism is a "sticky" idea that is approaching its tipping point of mass adoption. She explained how liberty is a simple, profound, credible idea, the foundation for any widespread movement. The only facet it traditionally lacks, if only in tone, is the emotional impact and appeal. She pointed out that "people care about your ideas when you care about them."
Harris reminded the audience that all great progress in history has been the story of liberating humanity, be it ending feudalism or prohibition or the separating church and state. She said, "Libertarianism is the new anti-slavery movement. Be it warrantless searches, huge tax burdens, or undeclared wars, the people are yearning to be free. The future of western civilization depends upon you, let's move liberty forward."
The Liberty Forum continues until Sunday at the Crowne Plaza in Nashua. Full details are at http://www.freestateproject.org/libertyforum
###
Free State Project in New Orleans:
The 2007 International Drug Policy Reform Conference
by Matt Simon
Nearly 1,200 individuals converged on the French Quarter of New Orleans for the International Drug Policy Reform Conference, Dec. 5-8. The event, sponsored by the Drug Policy Alliance (DPA) and 5 co-host organizations (the ACLU, the Harm Reduction Coalition, Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP), the Marijuana Policy Project (MPP), and Students for Sensible Drug Policy (SSDP), was a tremendously positive experience for drug policy reformers. Phillip Allen and I operated a booth on behalf of the Free State Project and the New Hampshire Coalition for Common Sense Marijuana Policy (NH Common Sense).
One of the worst parts of being a drug policy activist is meeting people who say, for example, "marijuana should be legal, but it will never happen... never happen... never happen." To those of us who know that it will happen, sooner or later, depending on how effectively we work towards that end, encountering this defeatist attitude from like-minded individuals is nothing short of demoralizing. This conference was the perfect antidote to that, the equivalent of a tent revival for prohibition policy activists.
One highlight of the conference was an appearance by Antonio Maria Costa, executive director of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). Yes, this guy is the UN's "Drug Czar," and he surprised a lot of people by accepting DPA Executive Director Ethan Nadelmann's invitation to speak at the conference. Although Costa opposes most significant reforms, he approached the event with a sense of humor and a willingness to engage opponents of global Drug Prohibition. "This level of discourse with a representative of a global policy-setting agency was affirmation that drug policy reform has truly become a mature movement," Nadelmann wrote.
Costa humorously asked: "Is there some common ground between those who insist on a world free of drugs, and those who propose a world of free drugs? By the time this session is over, I hope we will all be able to answer in the affirmative." Of course, the reaction to Costa's remarks was mixed at best, but the experience was unforgettable. (Here's a transcript.)
Not only did Phillip and I learn a lot from individuals across the world and across the drug policy reform spectrum, we also got to tell a lot of people about the wonderful things we are doing in New Hampshire. We distributed over 900 copies of the "Anti-Prohibitionist Candidate Report Card" produced by NH Common Sense for its SendTheRightMessage.com campaign, which has capitalized on PR/educational opportunities presented by New Hampshire's "First in the Nation" primary. These report cards were very well-received, and they were a great way for us to start conversations about New Hampshire politics. We also promoted the New Hampshire Liberty Forum (where Nadelmann and LEAP's Peter Christ will be speaking), and we handed out lots of FSP schwag: bookmarks, stickers, brochures, etc.
When I moved to New Hampshire almost two years ago, there was next to nothing going on with drug policy reform in the state. NH Common Sense was founded to fill that void last January, and thanks to this conference, we were able to generate a lot of enthusiasm for the future of drug policy reform in New Hampshire. We met at least two individuals who are already signed FSP participants, and they were happy to see and hear about what's already going on in the "Live Free or Die" state. We also met a lot of people, especially young people, who unfortunately have been conditioned to oppose economic freedom, but we managed to have some very productive (and hopefully instructive) exchanges with those individuals as well!
And like they say in all the old church newsletters, "A good time was had by all." It was, after all, the French Quarter. Many thanks to the Free State Project for helping make this trip possible.
Congressman Ron Paul to Speak at NH Liberty Forum
December 11, 2007
Nashua, NH -- The Free State Project is pleased to announce that
Congressman and presidential candidate Ron Paul will be the keynote
speaker at the closing ceremonies of the upcoming New Hampshire Liberty Forum in Nashua, NH.
Congressman Paul will cap a full weekend of noteworthy speakers
including Senator John Sununu and Liberty Dollar founder Bernard von
NotHaus. Ron Paul will speak on Sunday afternoon, January 6th.
The recent surge in membership and movers and the ability to attract first rate speakers shows the continuing impact of the Free State Project. Irena Goddard, FSP president noted that "the presidential primary is the main reason for the surge in interest in the FSP. We are very pleased to have a pro-liberty candidate with rapidly increasing popularity as one of our featured speakers. We think it shows how serious our members are about politics and making better communities, a better state and a better country."
Other presidential campaigns have expressed interest in appearing at the forum, though no speaking times have been confirmed as yet.
The Liberty Forum is a 3-day convention focusing on successful political and social action in New Hampshire. Members and friends of the Free State Project will socialize and get a firsthand New Hampshire experience. Locals will learn about the FSP, meet its participants, and get to understand their goals and how they can work together.
There will be multiple program "tracks" covering many interests. Panel Discussions include Media, Jobs, Education choice, 2nd Amendment, Drug Policy, Making the Move, Working with Political Parties and Taxpayer Activism.
The Liberty Forum runs January 3-6, 2008 at The Crowne Plaza, Nashua, NH
More at http://www.freestateproject.org/libertyforum
2013 Porcupine Freedom Festival
June 17 - June 23, 2013
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