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
###
EARLY ACTIVITY OF LIBERTY FORUM A SUCCESS
Nashua, NH - January 3, 2008 - Free State Project members enjoyed their first day visiting New Hampshire for the 2008 Liberty Forum. Members from as far away as Hawaii braved the cold and got involved. The opening day activities included trips to a firing range and the state capitol and hearing from local authors.
Dozens of members visited Manchester Firing Line to practice target shooting and use weapons which are illegal in their various home states. Everyone was given an overview of gun and range safety and of the various types of firearms. Newcomers received basic safety training from local NRA-certified instructors. As the morning continued, experienced FSP members helped the less skilled shooters.
After lunch a large group of about 40 visited the State House to watch the Legislature in session. They met several state reps and watched committee hearings on banning light bulbs, costing an adequate education, regulating clotheslines, and reducing the tolls in Merrimack, then they took a tour of the capitol.
Reps. Jason Bedrick and Dan Itse explained the legislative process and related past successes and outlined various political games that get played in Concord. They also discussed an upcoming bill for a state guard and how it related to homeland security and the National Guard.
Rep. Bedrick relayed an interesting fact on the trip: the Afganistan legislature uses the rules of the New Hampshire House. A delegation had come through last year and were so impressed with how we do things in the Granite State that they adopted it for their own use.
In the evening, at the Crowne Plaza, Sakal/CAI hosted a reception for locals and the visiting FSP members to hear from some of the authors present at the Forum. Among them were Brian Wright, James Maynard, and Gardner Goldsmith.
The evening was capped by a humorous and informative re-enactment of the debate to adopt the Constitution put on by some current state representatives playing various figures from the time, including George Washington. The re-enactment covered many issues of the debate such as sound money, ceding power, managing an alliance of states, having a standing army and preserving states' interests through the Senate.
After the official events broke, most attendees gathered around TVs watching the results of the Iowa Caucus or listened to interviews conducted by Free Talk Live.
The Liberty Forum runs through Sunday the 6th at the Crowne Plaza in Nashua. Full info at http://www.freestateproject.org/libertyforum
EARLY ACTIVITY OF LIBERTY FORUM A SUCCESS
Nashua, NH - January 3, 2008 - Free State Project members enjoyed their first day visiting New Hampshire for the 2008 Liberty Forum. Members from as far away as Hawaii braved the cold and got involved. The opening day activities included trips to a firing range and the state capitol and hearing from local authors.
Dozens of members visited Manchester Firing Line to practice target shooting and use weapons which are illegal in their various home states. Everyone was given an overview of gun and range safety and of the various types of firearms. Newcomers received basic safety training from local NRA-certified instructors. As the morning continued, experienced FSP members helped the less skilled shooters.
After lunch a large group of about 40 visited the State House to watch the Legislature in session. They met several state reps and watched committee hearings on banning light bulbs, costing an adequate education, regulating clotheslines, and reducing the tolls in Merrimack, then they took a tour of the capitol.
Reps. Jason Bedrick and Dan Itse explained the legislative process and related past successes and outlined various political games that get played in Concord. They also discussed an upcoming bill for a state guard and how it related to homeland security and the National Guard.
In the evening, at the Crowne Plaza, Sakal/CAI hosted a reception for locals and the visiting FSP members to hear from some of the authors present at the Forum. Among them were Brian Wright, James Maynard, and Gardner Goldsmith.
The evening was capped by a humorous and informative re-enactment of the debate to adopt the Constitution put on by some current state representatives playing various figures from the time, including George Washington. The re-enactment covered many issues of the debate such as sound money, ceding power, managing an alliance of states, having a standing army and preserving states' interests through the Senate.
After the official events broke, most attendees gathered around TVs watching the results of the Iowa Caucus or listened to interviews conducted by Free Talk Live.
The Liberty Forum runs through Sunday the 6th at the Crowne Plaza in Nashua. Full info at http://www.freestateproject.org/libertyforum
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
Free State Project Surges Past 8,000 Participants
Rate of new memberships increasing
* For Immediate Release *
December 4, 2007
Concord, NH – Over 8,000 activists have signed a commitment to move to
New Hampshire to promote smaller, less intrusive government. Weekly
sign-up numbers show that momentum for the movement is building, with
a 25% increase in the sign-up rate since August. This is on top of the
earlier success of more than 1000 members signing up to move before
December 2008.
"Project participants are from all over the United States: California,
Florida, Texas, everywhere", said Irena Goddard, President of the Free
State Project. "Small government and personal responsibility are what
people are after. They are sick of the 'nanny state' government that
dictates morality and then taxes away significant portions of their
livelihoods. These people are coming to New Hampshire to work hard,
and to demonstrate to the rest of the world what a free state could
really look like."
When asked to explain the surge of interest in the Project, Goddard
doesn't need to guess. "The feedback we're hearing is loud and clear:
it's the 2008 Presidential election. This is a hotly contested race,
and many people feel with the issues at play – the war, health care,
immigration - this election is the most important in living memory."
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT:
Jason Sorens, President
Free State Project, Inc.
Phone: 828-273-8863
Email: info@freestateproject.org
Web site: www.freestateproject.org
Eminent Libertarian Economist Walter Williams
Endorses Aims and Efforts of Free State Project
August 7, 2002 – The Free State Project was endorsed this week by
George Mason University economist Walter Williams in his widely syndicated
column appearing in TownHall.com, WorldNetDaily, and other national media
outlets.
The Free State Project is a non-profit organization that is in the process
of gathering 20,000 or
more liberty-oriented people to move to a single state in the U.S. in the
attempt to establish a truly free society.
Rather than continuing the same failed strategies aimed at bringing
Washington, D.C. to the light, the Free State Project aims at liberty in a
single state. State taxes and wasteful state government programs can be
repealed. The collaboration between state and federal law enforcement
officials in enforcing unconstitutional federal laws could be ended. Utilities
could be privatized, and inefficient regulations and monopolies could be
abolished. Following these reforms at the state level, the state could pressure
the federal government for the right to opt out of wasteful and
unconstitutional federal programs and receive a tax rebate instead.
Since the FSP's founding in September of 2001 by Jason Sorens, a Yale
graduate student in Political Science, over 600 people have decided that this
route represents the most viable strategy toward the creation of a free
society, and have signed up as participants. The Free State Project was in part
inspired by a column written by Dr. Williams in September of 2000 titled,
"It’s Time to Part Company."
Dr. Walter E.
Williams serves on the faculty of George Mason University in Fairfax,
Virginia, as John M. Olin Distinguished Professor of Economics. He is the
author of over eighty publications that have appeared in scholarly journals
such as Economic Inquiry, American Economic Review, Georgia Law Review, Journal
of Labor Economics, and Social Science Quarterly. Other popular publications
that have included the works of Dr. Williams are Newsweek, Freeman, National
Review, Reader's Digest, Cato Journal, and Policy Review. Dr. Williams has
authored six books, including his latest, More Liberty Means Less
Government.
For more information, please visit www.freestateproject.org.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT:
Jason Sorens, President
Free State Project, Inc.
Phone: 828-225-1951
Email: info@freestateproject.org
Web site: www.freestateproject.org
Libertarian Author Vin Suprynowicz Signs Up for Free
State Project
October 17, 2002 – The Free State Project recently gained a new
member, noted libertarian author and speaker Vin Suprynowicz. While speaking
at the New Hampshire Libertarian Party convention, Mr. Suprynowicz announced
his intention to sign up for the project, and inspired others to do so with his
statement that he would be happy to "cross state lines to preserve liberty,
when our founding fathers were willing to die to do the same."
The Free State Project is a growing movement with the aim of obtaining
signatures from 20,000 people who commit to move to a single, low-population
state of the U.S. and work to institute political reforms there. Since the
FSP's founding in September 2001, over 1500 people - including Mr. Suprynowicz
- have decided that this route represents the most viable strategy toward the
creation of a free society, and have signed up as participants. For more
information about the Free State Project, please see the website, www.freestateproject.org.
Mr. Suprynowicz is currently an editorial writer for the Las Vegas
Review-Journal. He also pens a twice-a-week syndicated political
column that runs in 20 or so daily newspapers around the country. He is also
the author of two books, the most recent being The Ballad of Carl
Drega, a series of essays examining the dangerous predicament of
freedom-lovers in our time. Vin's books and columns can be seen at his
website, www.privacyalert.us.
For Immediate Release
August 7, 2004
SUBJECT: Free Staters Advocate Volunteerism as Alternative to
Government
Contact: Amanda Phillips, National Spokesperson
Email:
aphillips@freestateproject.org
Phone: 617-763-1996
Website:
www.freestateproject.org
The Free State Project (www.freestateproject.org) is a plan in which 20,000
or more liberty-oriented people will move to New Hampshire, where they may work
within the political system to reduce the size and scope of government.
Participants pledge to work toward a society where the maximum role of civil
government is the protection of life, liberty, and property. They have begun
the migration to the "Live Free or Die" state. Some serve in the NH State House
and in Governor Craig Benson's administration.
Beyond this political activity, however, Free Staters place equal emphasis
on charity and community programs, which will reduce the demand for government
services. "Volunteerism is at the very core of our libertarian philosophy,"
says FSP founder Jason Sorens. "What politicians and regulators often try to do
through coercive government, we plan to do through voluntary cooperation."
The Liberty Scholarship Fund (LSF) is one example of Free Staters' charity;
the LSF grants scholarships for home-schooled and private-schooled children.
LSF founder Mike Fisher, a Free Stater who recently moved to NH, says, "There
will be less need for government education as more people are able to use
private alternatives." Outside an auction to benefit the LSF, anti-Benson
activists held signs reading, "Greedy people are the problem." The LSF will
soon announce the recipients of the first scholarships.
Many Free Staters also care about preserving NH's unique identity and
historical heritage. When NH, true to its frugal nature, declined to spend
taxpayer dollars to preserve the historic flags hanging in the Statehouse's
Hall of Flags, FSP participants saw an opportunity to help and collected over
$400 in contributions for the flag fund.
These are just two examples of contributions that Free Staters make to the
community. "It's clear that Free Staters are not all about politics; we also
have a positive cultural effect," notes FSP President Amanda Phillips. "Our
message is clear: If you favor small government and individual rights, you
should move to NH as part of the Free State Project. There's no better place to
raise a family, start a business, and get involved!"
The Free State Project, a non-partisan, non-profit organization, currently
has 6,000 participants, and is recruiting a total of at least 20,000 to move to
New Hampshire.
PDF
version of this press release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT:
Jason Sorens, President
Free State Project, Inc.
Phone: (828) 225-1951
Email: info@freestateproject.org
Website: www.freestateproject.org
Free State Project President Speaking in Vermont
January 29, 2003 - Jason Sorens, President of the Free State Project, will
be delivering a keynote address to the Vermont Citizens for Property Rights
annual meeting on Saturday, February 1st. The Free State Project is a growing
movement with the aim of moving 20,000 advocates of strictly limited government
into a single state, where they could work to institute political reforms.
Currently, the Free State Project has approximately 2,500 signed-up members.
Vermont is among ten states being considered by the Free State Project.
Members will vote on which state to target once 5,000 commitments have been
received.
"On the one hand, Vermont has a longstanding tradition of local government
and individual freedom that fits in with our members' philosophy of individual
rights, free markets, decentralization, and peace," notes Sorens. "On the
other hand, Vermont is currently undergoing a trend toward hamstringing local
business with a myriad of unnecessary regulations." Sorens notes that if the
Free State Project were to choose Vermont, local property rights issues would
be among the first areas to see new ideas and solutions. His speech will focus
on developing new principles to govern reforms in three areas: eminent domain,
land-use planning, and asset forfeiture.
Vermont is among three New England states being considered by the Free State
Project: New Hampshire and Maine are the other two. The state Libertarian
Party organizations in both New Hampshire and Maine have endorsed the Free
State Project and are seeking to promote their states to FSP members.
Citizens for Property Rights, founded in 1989, is a non-partisan, grass
roots organization dedicated to defending the interests of property owners and
taxpayers. The 2003 annual meeting will be taking place at the Best Western
(formerly Holiday Inn) in Waterbury, Vt.
END
For Immediate Release
June 17, 2004
SUBJECT: Free State Project 1st Annual "Porcupine Freedom Festival"
Contact: Amanda Phillips, National Spokesperson
Email:
aphillips@freestateproject.org
Phone: 617-763-1996
Website:
www.freestateproject.org
Lancaster, New Hampshire – More than 300 participants are expected to
arrive in Lancaster, New Hampshire, for the Free State Project's first-annual
Porcupine Freedom Festival. The festival will run from Thursday, the 24th of
June through Sunday the 27th, with most events scheduled for Saturday the 26th.
The weekend's activities at Roger's Campground will include a hike up Mount
Liberty, food and fun, the sale of FSP souvenirs, speeches from FSP leaders and
libertarian notables, and presentations on issues such as gun rights,
home-schooling, taxes, and industrial hemp. The festival is named in honor of
the group's mascot, the porcupine. Their website explains, "Porcupines are
certainly cute and non-aggressive, but you don't want to step on them!"
Tim Condon, FSP Director of Participant Services, said, "Until now, the
Free State Project has been a virtual organization, with participants scattered
across the country and connected only by the Internet. For most of them, the
Porcupine Freedom Festival will be the first opportunity to meet their comrades
in person, and in New Hampshire."
FSP founder and Yale political science lecturer Dr. Jason Sorens commented,
"This will be seen as a major milestone in the history of the Free State
Project-the time when an abstract plan became a concrete reality, as hundreds
of libertarian activists visited their future home together, with a real hope
of making a difference."
FSP President Amanda Phillips commented, "Just by crossing the state line
into New Hampshire, we are achieving a greater degree of liberty than we had in
the states we leave behind. Some are joining us for the weekend, and some for
the rest of our lives; the Porcupine Freedom Festival is a chance to discover
what our society of libertarians might look like."
The Free State Project (FSP) is a plan for 20,000 or more liberty-minded
people to move to New Hampshire, where they may work within the political
system to reduce the size and scope of government. Participants pledge to work
peacefully toward a society in which the maximum role of government is the
protection of life, liberty, and property. The non-partisan, non-profit FSP
organization chose the "Live Free or Die" state as its destination, and several
dozen of its more than 5,800 participants have already moved.
PDF
version of this press release
Participants
in New Hampshire
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