http://www.vnews.com/news/townbytown/grafton/10601382-95/grafton-meeting-gets-testy
Grafton Meeting Gets Testy
By Sarah Brubeck
Valley News Staff Writer
Sunday, February 9, 2014
(Published in print: Sunday, February 9, 2014)
Grafton — Grafton kicked off its Town Meeting season by having the chairman of its Planning Board escorted out of Saturday's deliberative session by police.
Brian Fellers, who has been a member of the Planning Board since at least 2006 and chairman since at least 2011, began the meeting by questioning the "Rules of Decorum," which the moderator, Susan Frost, had distributed to all in attendance.
The rules prohibit cursing, name calling and personal attacks against people or their motives, and give the moderator the authority to ask the police officer in attendance to remove from the building any person conducting himself or herself in a disorderly manner.
Fellers said he didn't like the idea that he could be kicked out of the meeting for what he had to say, and said he thought the rules were a violation of his First Amendment rights.
A motion was soon made to strike the rules of decorum. Frost warned voters to read them carefully.
From the back row, Pam Curran stood up and defended the rules.
"I think these are orders of respect," Curran said. "I don't know why we want to disrespect each other. If we eliminate this, there will be no respect."
Ultimately, only a handful of people voted to strike the rules, and they stayed.
So did Fellers, for the moment.
Town Meeting is meant to bring voters close to their government and give them a direct say in town and school budgets. It's a lesson in pure democracy. But as anyone who has been to a Town Meeting knows, there are moments of boredom, frustration and times when it feels like the meeting is just dragging on.
It's safe to say that voters in Grafton on Saturday felt all of those emotions. It took an hour and 45 minutes of discussion before voters even began to address the warrant. By 2 p.m. — five hours after the meeting started — voters were only on Article 5 of 30.
Last year, the meeting started at 6 p.m. and adjourned at 12:45 a.m.
About a decade ago, the Free State Project, whose libertarian members lobby for smaller government, selected New Hampshire to settle in, and Grafton soon became the home to many "Free Staters."
At last year's deliberative session, Free Staters and their allies reduced Grafton's proposed operating budget by more than $128,000, about a 10 percent cut. This year the Free Staters weren't able to touch the operating budget, although they had plans to take a stab at it.
It's not fair to blame the slow progress of Saturday's deliberative session entirely on the Free Staters, but they didn't help hurry the process along, either.
For almost two hours, the meeting debated two issues: a motion to strike the rules of decorum and whether one resident, Kevin Barlow, should be allowed to vote even though he didn't have the proper paperwork. (Ultimately, a supervisor of the checklist said Barlow did not complete a voter registration form in time, and he was not allowed to vote.)
But during that discussion, in which Fellers argued to let Barlow vote, he interrupted other speakers several times. The moderator eventually asked him to leave. Fellers, who sports a long gray beard and a shaved head, was then escorted out by police.
He didn't go quietly, singing, "God bless America, land that I love, stand beside her, and guide her ... as someone gets escorted out."
Some of the 100 or so voters in attendance clapped, and one woman chuckled after Fellers had left the building.
The budget discussion then went relatively quickly.
The Selectboard and Budget Committee informed the group that the $1.6 million operating budget on the warrant should be only $993,556. After some discussion, voters were asked to amend the budget to the new dollar amount, and they approved the proposed budget.
Afterward, several Free Staters, including Jeremy Olson, inquired about a motion that they had requested earlier, which was to go line by line through the budget. But they were told it was too late because the budget had already passed. A motion was made to reconsider the budget, but it failed 36-60, and the meeting moved on to the next article.
Olson said he was disappointed, especially because he and others had worked hard to plan how they would attempt to cut the proposed spending.
"It's complete chaos in there," Olson said referring to the budget vote. There were often several motions on the floor at once.
Olson had a stack of small slips of paper on which he had typed his motions so he could hand them to the moderator. One motion requested that the police budget be cut from $132,053 to $89,000. Another suggested cutting legal expenses by $5,000 and slashing the highway and street budget by nearly $34,000. One had a motion that would have reduced the budget by 9 percent, while another would have eliminated the streetlight budget.
Olson said he and other Free Staters probably wouldn't have submitted all of the motions if they could have gone over the budget line by line, but they were prepared.
"It's like a game of chess," he said. "You have to plan all these moves out because you don't know what they're going to throw at you."
When asked why he wants to cut the budget, Olson said simply, "lower taxes."
Olson moved from Massachusetts to Manchester in 2007, and then to Grafton in 2010. He said the budget has been increasing each year. The Free State movement, he said, is all about reducing government.
"You shouldn't be forced to pay for things you don't want," Olson said. "It's democracy in action."
This year, Olson said, there were a couple dozen residents who would vote "pro-liberty." Compared with last year, however, there were more people at the meeting opposing, or at least not supporting, the Free State Project.
On the other side of the spectrum was Rich Blair, who wore a blue Obama-Biden button to the meeting. In an interview, he said he thinks the Free State Project is "trashing" the reputation of the town he's lived in since 1985.
He said three people had come up to him before 1:30 p.m. to ask him not to leave, even if he got frustrated with the length of the meeting.
"People are staying because they want to fight (the Free State) movement," Blair said.
Sue Jukosky had to leave the meeting after the budget vote, but she said she wished she could have stayed. Jukosky said she doesn't usually come to the deliberative session because she said the town doesn't do the best job letting residents know the date and time. But this year, she got a phone call the night before the meeting encouraging her to attend, and she said she wanted to be there because she didn't want the budget to be "undermined."
"I didn't want people to come and cut the budget to pieces," Jukosky said.
The meeting, which started at 9 a.m., lasted about 11 hours, but all the warrant articles "survived" and none were thrown out or changed dramatically, said Selectboard Chairman Steve Darrow.
Grafton residents have always been reluctant to spend money, Darrow said, but the Free Stater's role last year in cutting the budget arbitrarily caused a larger turnout this year. The Free Staters were vocal, but they couldn't control key votes.
"People wanted to show up to make sure what happened last year didn't happen again," Darrow said late Saturday night. "There was strong support from people who didn't want the budget cut arbitrarily."
Town Meeting is scheduled for March 11. Voting will be from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. at the Grafton fire station.
Sarah Brubeck can be reached at sbrubeck@vnews.com or 603-727-3223.
Wow...not sure what to say about this or where to start....know this though.....Kevin Barlow was registered to vote....Bonnie knew it.....shit may hit the fan.....ahh Grafton.
QuoteFellers, who sports a long gray beard and a shaved head, was then escorted out by police.
See they're weirdos!
Quote"There was strong support from people who didn't want the budget cut arbitrarily."
Who are "arbitrarily" cutting the budget.
Don't see any negative terms used for the idea of increasing the budget year after year.
Quote from: Tom Sawyer on February 10, 2014, 09:08 AM NHFTDon't see any negative terms used for the idea of increasing the budget year after year.
Yeah, there is a
lot of bias in the article.
For example, she mentions that Jeremy moved from Mass, branding him as an outsider. Then she immediately goes to Blair, mentioning that he's lived here since 1985, but without any more information, implying that he's a local who was born in 1985, when in fact he's a crackpot lunatic who moved here from New Jersey in that year, and who consistently attempts to change Grafton into some copy of NJ.
She says things like, "Free Staters and their allies..." when in point of fact, the situation is "local liberty lovers and their allies among the Freestaters" - the local liberty folk far outnumber the FSP participants.
The whole article is filled with loaded terms, careful omissions, etc.
People responsibly grow government
And irresponsibly cut it
Ack
Pigs engaged in eating don't like interruptions.
Can you at least joke amongst yourselves or play drinking games during the all day meetings?
Quote from: Russell Kanning on February 12, 2014, 09:15 PM NHFT
Can you at least joke amongst yourselves or play drinking games during the all day meetings?
Mocking demockracy is not allowed.
I'd rather stay home, and let the voters fight amongst themselves.
I didn't want the budget cut arbitrarily.
I didn't want the budget cut arbitrarily.
I didn't want the budget cut arbitrarily.
I didn't want the budget cut arbitrarily.
I didn't want the budget cut arbitrarily.
I didn't want the budget cut arbitrarily.
I didn't want the budget cut arbitrarily.
I didn't want the budget cut arbitrarily.
I didn't want the budget cut arbitrarily.
I didn't want the budget cut arbitrarily.
he is learning
http://www.vnews.com/home/15198024-95/grafton-man-guilty-in-outburst-case
Grafton — The former chairman of the town Planning Board has appealed a disorderly conduct conviction stemming from last year's lengthy deliberative session in Grafton, where he repeatedly interrupted other speakers.
On Monday, Brian Fellers filed an appeal of the judge's verdict that he disrupted the flow of the Feb. 8, 2014, meeting by speaking out of turn multiple times, including when he sang God Bless America while being escorted out by police.
In his four-page appeal, Fellers questioned whether the court followed proper procedure prior to and during a one-day bench trial in Lebanon District Court on Dec. 9.
Fellers, who is still a Planning Board member, pleaded not guilty to a misdemeanor charge of disorderly conduct in a public facility at an arraignment in April. Under state law, it is illegal to disrupt "the orderly conduct of business in any public or governmental facility."
Fellers, who represented himself at the trial last month, was found guilty by Judge Thomas Bamberger, who issued Fellers a $500 fine, which was suspended as long as Fellers stays out of further legal trouble for a year, according to a case summary filed in Lebanon District Court.
This years meeting should be even more interesting. There should be at least 20 liberty related warrant articles heard.
For instance, no town cooperation with the NSA, no civil forfeiture, decrim. the weed, victimless crime, reduce the cop budget from over 100 K per year to 10 K per year. (can you say Barney Fife gets a bicycle?) etc.
Yeah....we got carried away with this freedom thing.
Oh and the article in the Valley News was in error. It failed to mention the Prosecutor can't work for Lower Grafton County Prosecutorial Association, or at least not the one registered with the State. Somebody else registered THAT already and has an "official gold seal stamped" magic paper from New Hampshire to prove it. So it seems the Prosecutor might have fibbed a little bit and is using the name but he's not "official" . I can't wait to wear my new blue blazer emblazoned with "LGCPA" next time I'm in court or handing out Juror info.
Has a UN free zone warrant article passed in Grafton yet?
...and 'The Most Effective Use of Warrant Articles' goes to...
Quote from: Jim Johnson on January 15, 2015, 10:01 PM NHFT
...and 'The Most Effective Use of Warrant Articles' goes to...
Oh Jim, now you're being a Party Pooper. Everybody knows if you just get the right magic papers and edicts in place everything will be all Constitutiony and fixed. ;D
Actually I think within the warrant process, there is potential marketing opportunity to bring more attention (and people) to liberty ideas. I am not advocating that there is a right amount of tyranny, that's illogical, just using the process to aid Leviathan in eating its own arm off.
I am well aware of the lure of the ring of power, that's why I wear no jewelry, and get all Lysander Spoonerish around small government types. I do think many people that want a voluntary and peaceful world now, came from the ranks of the small government folks though.
Also, I am a duly elected Ambassador....I'm just doing my job. ;D
Quote from: blackie on January 15, 2015, 08:58 PM NHFT
Has a UN free zone warrant article passed in Grafton yet?
Unwashing brains is hard work. More detergent is needed.
I don't think we burned enough U.N. flags yet, if we only burn more flags it will surely pass!! ;D
The most effective Article would be the one where you here, "Fuck It, I'm never coming to one these meets ever again."
Just a Testy Johnson response.
He should be more like me... all sunshine and lollipops! ;D
Bob could get a Colonel Sanders suit and speak like Fog Horn Leghorn.
"I say, I say sir, I'd like to introduce an article to declare Graftonshire a UN free zone!"
(http://www.costumepop.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/Colonel-449x600.jpg)
Quote from: Jim Johnson on January 16, 2015, 11:46 AM NHFT
The most effective Article would be the one where you here, "Fuck It, I'm never coming to one these meets ever again."
You ruined it for me. I was gonna wear the Colonel Sanders suit too and say, "if I'm elected there will be Pot in every chicken"!!!
Quote from: Free libertarian on January 16, 2015, 10:01 PM NHFT
Quote from: Jim Johnson on January 16, 2015, 11:46 AM NHFT
The most effective Article would be the one where you here, "Fuck It, I'm never coming to one these meets ever again."
You ruined it for me. I was gonna wear the Colonel Sanders suit too and say, "if I'm elected there will be Pot in every chicken"!!!
Don't blame me, man. That's Tom's gig.
Quote from: Jim Johnson on January 16, 2015, 10:38 PM NHFT
Quote from: Free libertarian on January 16, 2015, 10:01 PM NHFT
Quote from: Jim Johnson on January 16, 2015, 11:46 AM NHFT
The most effective Article would be the one where you here, "Fuck It, I'm never coming to one these meets ever again."
You ruined it for me. I was gonna wear the Colonel Sanders suit too and say, "if I'm elected there will be Pot in every chicken"!!!
Don't blame me, man. That's Tom's gig.
I've heard him say y'all and dang a few times, but I didn't know he was a Kentucky Colonel too. I'm gonna have to see some insignia to believe that one. Feathers or something official like that. ;D
Quote from: Free libertarian on January 17, 2015, 07:44 AM NHFT
Quote from: Jim Johnson on January 16, 2015, 10:38 PM NHFT
Quote from: Free libertarian on January 16, 2015, 10:01 PM NHFT
Quote from: Jim Johnson on January 16, 2015, 11:46 AM NHFT
The most effective Article would be the one where you here, "Fuck It, I'm never coming to one these meets ever again."
You ruined it for me. I was gonna wear the Colonel Sanders suit too and say, "if I'm elected there will be Pot in every chicken"!!!
Don't blame me, man. That's Tom's gig.
I've heard him say y'all and dang a few times, but I didn't know he was a Kentucky Colonel too. I'm gonna have to see some insignia to believe that one. Feathers or something official like that. ;D
Dang it, Tom is so angry that ya'll don't believe he is a Kentucky Colonel. He is now seeking legal counsel to pursue a lawsuit for defaming his honor! Everyone knows they keep the Kentucky Colonel list secret.
Quote from: Becky Thatcher on January 17, 2015, 08:00 PM NHFT
Quote from: Free libertarian on January 17, 2015, 07:44 AM NHFT
Quote from: Jim Johnson on January 16, 2015, 10:38 PM NHFT
Quote from: Free libertarian on January 16, 2015, 10:01 PM NHFT
Quote from: Jim Johnson on January 16, 2015, 11:46 AM NHFT
The most effective Article would be the one where you here, "Fuck It, I'm never coming to one these meets ever again."
You ruined it for me. I was gonna wear the Colonel Sanders suit too and say, "if I'm elected there will be Pot in every chicken"!!!
Don't blame me, man. That's Tom's gig.
I've heard him say y'all and dang a few times, but I didn't know he was a Kentucky Colonel too. I'm gonna have to see some insignia to believe that one. Feathers or something official like that. ;D
Dang it, Tom is so angry that ya'll don't believe he is a Kentucky Colonel. He is now seeking legal counsel to pursue a lawsuit for defaming his honor! Everyone knows they keep the Kentucky Colonel list secret.
Don't blame me, that's Free Liertarian's fault.
Quote from: Jim Johnson on January 15, 2015, 10:01 PM NHFT
...and 'The Most Effective Use of Warrant Articles' goes to...
With a Juror info warrant article Juror info gets out every time - win or lose.
That's why some people tried it. :)
Note: The "A" in FIJA was originally for "amendment" with the idea being that Juror info always got out through that process...
I've not been involved this year.
Quote from: Tom Sawyer on January 16, 2015, 01:31 PM NHFT
Bob could get a Colonel Sanders suit and speak like Fog Horn Leghorn.
"I say, I say sir, I'd like to introduce an article to declare Graftonshire a UN free zone!"
(http://www.costumepop.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/Colonel-449x600.jpg)
they would arrest him for being a Southerner
I love the singing as you get hauled off. I was never brave enough to do that. :)
In Keene, some good guys (probably CNHT operatives) say that if you bring in a lot of good guys to a town hall meeting .... they just drag it out until the next day or however long it takes to beat you. I guess they can also arrest anyone that tries to change the agenda.
Quote from: Russell Kanning on January 20, 2015, 09:06 PM NHFT
Quote from: Tom Sawyer on January 16, 2015, 01:31 PM NHFT
Bob could get a Colonel Sanders suit and speak like Fog Horn Leghorn.
"I say, I say sir, I'd like to introduce an article to declare Graftonshire a UN free zone!"
(http://www.costumepop.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/Colonel-449x600.jpg)
they would arrest him for being a Southerner
That southern warmth running into that northern cold front... serious weather is gonna happen.
I said it several years ago here, but satire is a powerful tool. 1000 karma points to the one who makes the thugs laugh as well.
Quote from: Tom Sawyer on January 20, 2015, 10:55 PM NHFT
Quote from: Russell Kanning on January 20, 2015, 09:06 PM NHFT
Quote from: Tom Sawyer on January 16, 2015, 01:31 PM NHFT
Bob could get a Colonel Sanders suit and speak like Fog Horn Leghorn.
"I say, I say sir, I'd like to introduce an article to declare Graftonshire a UN free zone!"
(http://www.costumepop.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/Colonel-449x600.jpg)
they would arrest him for being a Southerner
That southern warmth running into that northern cold front... serious weather is gonna happen.
I said it several years ago here, but satire is a powerful tool. 1000 karma points to the one who makes the thugs laugh as well.
You would temp the Gods?
the real colonel revealed
http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/So_I_Married_an_Axe_Murderer
"Well it's a well known fact sonny-jim that there's a secret society of the 5 wealthiest people in the world, known as The Pentaverate. Who run everything in the world including the newspapers, & meet tri-annually in a secrect country mansion in Colorado known as The Meadows. (So who's in this Pentaverate?)The Queen, the Getty's, the Rothschilds, the Vatican & Colonel Sanders before he went tits up. Ooh I hated the Colonel, with his wee beady eyes and that smug look on his face! Ohh you're gonna buy my chicken! Oohhh! (Dad, how can you hate the Colonel?) Because he puts an addictive chemical in his chicken that makes you crave it fortnightly, smart ass!"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YKRFlNryaWw
I think I'd rather have a 'Juice Tiger'.
Quote from: Russell Kanning on January 21, 2015, 06:25 PM NHFT
the real colonel revealed
http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/So_I_Married_an_Axe_Murderer
"Well it's a well known fact sonny-jim that there's a secret society of the 5 wealthiest people in the world, known as The Pentaverate. Who run everything in the world including the newspapers, & meet tri-annually in a secrect country mansion in Colorado known as The Meadows. (So who's in this Pentaverate?)The Queen, the Getty's, the Rothschilds, the Vatican & Colonel Sanders before he went tits up. Ooh I hated the Colonel, with his wee beady eyes and that smug look on his face! Ohh you're gonna buy my chicken! Oohhh! (Dad, how can you hate the Colonel?) Because he puts an addictive chemical in his chicken that makes you crave it fortnightly, smart ass!"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YKRFlNryaWw
You get extra points for the using a derivative of the term "fortnight" in your post. Your points can be redeemed for a delicious meal at any KFC. ;D
Quote from: Free libertarian on January 22, 2015, 05:27 AM NHFT
Quote from: Russell Kanning on January 21, 2015, 06:25 PM NHFT
the real colonel revealed
http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/So_I_Married_an_Axe_Murderer
"Well it's a well known fact sonny-jim that there's a secret society of the 5 wealthiest people in the world, known as The Pentaverate. Who run everything in the world including the newspapers, & meet tri-annually in a secrect country mansion in Colorado known as The Meadows. (So who's in this Pentaverate?)The Queen, the Getty's, the Rothschilds, the Vatican & Colonel Sanders before he went tits up. Ooh I hated the Colonel, with his wee beady eyes and that smug look on his face! Ohh you're gonna buy my chicken! Oohhh! (Dad, how can you hate the Colonel?) Because he puts an addictive chemical in his chicken that makes you crave it fortnightly, smart ass!"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YKRFlNryaWw
You get extra points for the using a derivative of the term "fortnight" in your post. Your points can be redeemed for a delicious meal at any KFC. ;D
So at this point the thread should read... "Grafton Meeting Gets Tasty" when the Colonel hands out points for delicious meals at any KFC.
William was imagining a future where people won't even know that KFC once meant Kentucky Fried Chicken. He went on to speculate that McDonalds would become a five star restaurant with Ronald McDonald as the maitre'd. ;D
the kid might be on to something
Johnson talks so far over my head nowadays. It must be those special meetings he goes to that I am not invited into.
Quote from: Russell Kanning on January 22, 2015, 08:08 AM NHFT
the kid might be on to something
Johnson talks so far over my head nowadays. It must be those special meetings he goes to that I am not invited into.
Juice Tiger was in the VDO that you posted, Tom was offering a 1000 points and I think that I would rather have the Juice Tiger than a 1000 points... and the Eagle Flies at Midnight.
10 4
the Snowball .... is in the Kitchen
the cat is out of the bag...and the litter box is full.....over?
a blog keeps quoting this free libertarian character
I hope they don't find out that this guy believes in Graffy
Graffy has the football.
he is moving the pigskin
;D Saw this on facebug:
(http://nhunderground.com/forum/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=26720.0;attach=9021;image)
That should give the opposition some heartburn. ;D
that is perfect
he could be setting the prisoners free ... or maybe the poor kids stuck in jailschool
and he sings too :)
Run Graffy run!!
Only in Grafton could you have a wicked beard and be a respected member of the community. I'd vote for Brian on that alone.
haven't you seen? beards are all the rage nowadays ..... but we know Brian is not a hipster :)
Quote from: Russell Kanning on February 08, 2015, 04:19 PM NHFT
haven't you seen? beards are all the rage nowadays ..... but we know Brian is not a hipster :)
Grafton should have a steady stream of chicks rolling in any day now.
'Lumbersexual' Is The Term For Hot Hipsters Who Look Like Lumberjacks (http://elitedaily.com/envision/hipster-men-are-lumbersexuals-photos/849694/)
(http://cdn29.elitedaily.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/lumbersexual_elitedaily-800x400.jpg)
So how is all this political gangsterism working out?
Most of my "friends" who want me to keep doing this political crap also refuse to do much - if any at all - of the stuff I think would help towards a more Peaceful and freer world.
Sad.
It is too late.
I must quit.
Chirp! Chirp. chirp...
http://www.unionleader.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=%2F20150208%2FNEWS0606%2F150209201
The Valley Snews also had article but they don't like to make sharing it easy.
:P
Quote from: John on February 09, 2015, 07:07 AM NHFT
The Valley Snews also had article but they don't like to make sharing it easy.
:P
Someone posted a link in the previous articles comments.
http://www.vnews.com/news/15524524-95/few-changes-to-warrant-after-another-chaotic-meeting-in-grafton#.VNeIHVhXboA
Quote from: John on February 09, 2015, 07:06 AM NHFT
http://www.unionleader.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=%2F20150208%2FNEWS0606%2F150209201
From the comments... sad that you have to count on the comments for the true story.
QuoteBRIAN FELLLERS said Sunday, February 8, 2015 at 12:09 pm
A slight correction. I was trying to cut the general gov't section of the budget from $349,103 to $300,000.The second point I would like to make is the reason for the secret ballot count is for an accurate count. Last year Moderator Frost chose a family member who was later investigated by the state and convicted of fraud.My last point as a resident who whose parent moved here in 1973 and has been a member of the planning board for almost a decade. I was arrested after a secret meeting between the moderator and the police cheif after I told him I was there to cut his budget. My subsequent trial conviction and now appeal at with the Nh supreme court has unearthed more corruption with the lebanon district cout and the local prosecuting agaency. The story is far from over.Brian fellers
From the Valley New article, enlarged the image, now we can play "Spot the Free Staters". Good to see friends.
(http://arafwchnawr.com/images/spot-the%20freestater.jpg)
Grafton has some harsh labeling laws. That guy back there is a dick.
Quote from: Jim Johnson on February 09, 2015, 07:52 AM NHFT
Grafton has some harsh labeling laws. That guy back there is a dick.
I think the back of that shirt says, "YOU DON'T KNOW DICK"
:)
The front says something like, "If you haven't been to Hippy Hill - at Dick's Variety Store in Danbury NH"
funny
I can't imagine you can change anything inside those meetings .... they will lie, cheat, and steal
I never went to one in Grafton.
I think we did some stuff outside a meeting or votes. Lots of good conversations are allowed outside. :)
I support any of you guys going into there and opposing the status quo at any level. :)
good job making them uncomfortable Brian.
Any system that has coercion baked into it is bound to yield some coercive pie.
I prefer blueberry pie. Hey...wait a minute....that's it!!! Pie throwing!!! >:D
Those who participated just saved a lot of money for those who refuse to recognize "the legitimacy of the system".
Quote from: KBCraig on February 10, 2015, 10:51 AM NHFT
Those who participated just saved a lot of money for those who refuse to recognize "the legitimacy of the system".
One can tell which side the paper is on, they had to exaggerate the amount.
Next year will be the big budget fight.
Quote from: KBCraig on February 10, 2015, 10:51 AM NHFT
Those who participated just saved a lot of money for those who refuse to recognize "the legitimacy of the system".
i am chuckling
Quote from: Jim Johnson on February 10, 2015, 11:28 AM NHFT
Quote from: KBCraig on February 10, 2015, 10:51 AM NHFT
Those who participated just saved a lot of money for those who refuse to recognize "the legitimacy of the system".
One can tell which side the paper is on, they had to exaggerate the amount.
Yeah, we would have "slashed" the budget by keeping it flat instead of approving the required increase. We "gut" it by actually reducing spending. And not by even that much: that was the difference between the proposed budget and the final budget. The approved budget is only $245,835 below the default current budget.
This is just a drop (out of) the bucket, but drops count. SAU 36 covers Lancaster, Dalton, Whitefield, and Jefferson. The current year budget is $16,834.63 per student. I've challenged my teacher friends to figure out how they could possibly spend that much to provide a world-class education, without actually taking a classroom full of kids around the world.
After 10 year of the free town project, what significant changes have happened in Grafton?
Quote from: blackie on February 11, 2015, 02:44 AM NHFT
After 10 year of the free town project, what significant changes have happened in Grafton?
A fair question to ask.
Graffy has considered wintering there rather than the Bahamas, I think is the most significant for me. I love hanging out with Graffy plotting peaceful and happy things.
Some of the best of the changes are secret and you haven't provided the right secret code for me to be able to discuss them on a public forum....sorry. ;D
Your question could also be construed as "what's the use"? If that is so, I say may your chains rest lightly upon you and I also suggest that the you say three "hail Lloyds" to Saint Lloyd and ask his forgiveness.
Also the term holding ground comes to mind. If the purpose of a coercive government is to expand its serfdom, that hasn't happened in many instances in Grafton, due to the opposition of "liberty people".
For instance it is fair to consider what might have happened had there been no resistance to the expansion of government.
Resisting a political system is also not an endorsement of that same system. I reason that no coercive government is a good one since it is systemically flawed from the get go. However I also reason since that same coercive government is going to coerce with or without your endorsement of it, that using that same system to point out the inherent coercion and systemic flaws is a good thing. Proliferating the idea that voluntary and peaceful interactions among humans is a good thing, yet is also difficult to do, given most people view what is "normal" as good. Until a hundred years later and then those people can't believe how people were "back then".
Which kinds of things do you do Blackie to deflate the coercive system and what do you recommend others do?
Quote from: Free libertarian on February 11, 2015, 06:34 AM NHFT
deflate the coercive system
Great phrase! Pointing and laughing may well be the best tactic. If so, these Grafton meetings are comedy gold--Darth Vader tripping down the stairs. That comment section is hilarious. Kudos to all of you meeting the True Believers in government head on and challenging their conditioned thinking.
Quote from: Russell Kanning on February 09, 2015, 10:43 AM NHFT
I think we did some stuff outside a meeting or votes. Lots of good conversations are allowed outside. :)
The "Free Grafton" elections were pointing-and-laughing extraordinaire. Emperor Evan is the only one I've met in the NH freedom movement who's also studied the Principia Discordia. All Hail Eris!
In Joy,
~K'neth
I agree with you both.
Can you imagine how nice Grafton was before the first guys wrested control of the place and called it a Town.
It does seem like those kinds of meetings help to de-legitimize the system :)
Plus singing is always good
Emperor Evan... 8) good times, good guy.
As to "participating"...
I think the attention brought has a positive effect even short of if the budget is cut or the gooberment rolled back.
I have had an arc to my libertarian activism. LP political efforts, helping advocacy groups that share my goals if not my politics, passive resistance, support of the CD folks, helping build a community for fellow travelers to find fellowship within...
Quote from: Russell Kanning on February 11, 2015, 10:02 AM NHFT
I agree with you both.
Can you imagine how nice Grafton was before the first guys wrested control of the place and called it a Town.
It was kind of weird when we fled to the hills and found out that we were considered to be in a "town". It seems to be only in this part of the country that they divided everywhere up into "towns". Other places I've lived it, at most, would be considered part of the county/unincorporated. Town, I don't need no stinkin' town.
think of those guys squatting in the desert with no government services .... and lovineveryminuteofit
Graffy has been whispering in my ear lately. I suspect he may be a Panarchist. It's hard to understand him sometimes when he's smacking his lips and eating a peanut butter and jelly fish sandwich, but I think that's what he said.
He distinctly has said in the past, that he "don't need no stinking oxymoronic "government services" at the point of a gun."
Graffy's wisdom appears to have no bounds.
;D
Quote from: Free libertarian on February 11, 2015, 06:34 AM NHFT
Resisting a political system is also not an endorsement of that same system.
I agree. Not resisting a political system is also not an endorsement of that system.
I wish people who want to participate in the political system would fight amongst themselves.
QuoteWhich kinds of things do you do Blackie to deflate the coercive system and what do you recommend others do?
I don't own property or live where there is zoning.
Deflating the system isn't my goal. Lots of people seem to like the system. My goal is to increase freedom for me and my family. I try to fly under the radar. If paying taxes to the government gets them off my back, I would rather do that than sit in jail or get shot. My focus is building a business. I pay taxes and fees so I can grow and sell weed legally. I collect sales tax. I know what the state laws are, and I follow them. But it's not legal on the federal level. I guess you can look it as activism if you want to spin it that way.
I don't really have general recommendations for what other people should do. I think recommendations would need to be specific for each person. Do you want my recommendations for you? :P
@blackie, thank you for your reply.
My "deflating the system" isn't meant that I would take away a socialists right to be a socialist etc. I just want to preserve my right to be whatever it is I am and not be automatically enrolled in someones "great plan" for me...at the point of a gun. I am a peaceful person, only claiming that I own me and insisting that nobody else does. That's the root of my philosophy.
Weed's not illegal in New Hampshire technically by their own bullshit law. The bureaucrats never followed their own law with regard to the formation and the publishing part of a controlled drug schedule. Then to get out of their first lie, they said they follow the federal law, which makes it illegal for medical marijuana in N.H. and laughably illegal for them to implement it. I became a minor wizard at their black magic, except they have a gun and swept my magic wand away, their black robed wizards can do that, plus my magic wand ran out of batteries because you have to put like $300 an hour into it to make the lawyer knob work. ;D
I may fix my home made magic legal wand and fuck with them later on this point and see how long I can make their pinocchio noses grow.
You should grow lots of weed and smoke some every day if that's what you like to do. Of course in "Free Grafton" prohibition of substances is laughed at anyway. We stopped burning witches a long time ago and we really hope the state will stop throwing virgins in volcanoes soon too. In "unfree Grafton" we put forth a warrant article this year declaring marijuana prohibition null and void, that is if the serfs will vote for it. Serfs sometimes get all stockholmy when somebody tries to open the door to their cages for them.
Quote from: Russell Kanning on February 01, 2015, 12:07 PM NHFT
a blog keeps quoting this free libertarian character
I hope they don't find out that this guy believes in Graffy
Graffy tells me he's pondering things now. He often ponders, when he's in a pond.