FSP Sedition

[Kat Kanning]

Eddie quietly dropped out of all activity, disgusted by the board's treament of me and himself and their refusal to open up communication with the peon membership.

[Friday]

In retrospect, the whole 'what should or should not be done in the name of the FSP' argument  is small potatoes in the death throws of the organization per it's ability to recruit.

Exactly.    Although I think the two things are related.  Doing things in the name of the FSP is a way to gain publicity, and thereby recruit.

[Friday]

I wonder if we can recruit another walker for next spring, missed out this year.

Has anyone heard from Mooseboy lately? He wasn't at PorcFest, was he?

[Russell Kanning]

I don't have more brilliant ideas than the current fsp leadership. I just want them to get out of the way of all of us. Sandy has taken a ?positive step towards liberty in our lifetimes. We cannot be held back by the egos of the fsp leadership.
You can crumudgeon all you want, but that won't stop us.

[Friday]

They are circling the wagons on the fsp forum.
You can't trust us revolutionaries.

Not surprising, but sad nonetheless.

[Kat Kanning]

No, haven't heard from Randall and he wasn't at porcfest.

[Friday]

The new organization should not be separate from its members or self-defensive of its organizational image.  The NH Underground is a perfect example of how to do this.  The organization IS the membership.  If a member does something we don't like, then a few of us can tell the press we didn't like it without disavowing them from the movement.  If a member is known for fraud, theft, or violence, then they've violated the basic premise of liberty and responsibility and can be removed from the membership list.  Otherwise, no one is to be removed from the membership.

Anyone can be a member, even those already in the state, even outlaws.

The membership list is absolutely confidential, including the mailing list.  Anyone caught pulling information from the list without authorization will have their contact information sent out to the entire membership as a new member of the "hall of shame". 

We need to figure out how to form our mission statement in order to reach these target markets, which I believe the FSP has failed to do:
-Victimless "criminal" ex-cons, current prisoners of victimless crime laws, and other victimless outlaws.
-Liberty-oriented writers, authors, singers, actors, bands, etc.
-Anarchocapitalists
-Volunteerists
-Nonviolent noncooperators, civil disobedience activists, and libertarian civil rights activists.
-Austrian economists
-Gun owners
-Free towners (where else is a free town more likely to work than in NH?)
-Well-known libertarians from other countries.  Work VERY hard to import well-known libertarians.
-PLEASE add to this list.

No deadlines.  The only rules are understood:  no aggression (violent self-defense is acceptable), no theft, and no fraud after becoming a member, or you're not a member anymore.

Great ideas, Mike. I hope "we" can make something positive happen, whoever "we" turns out to be.

[Friday]

Money should only be given directly to people involved in projects.  Like the FTL amp thing....  You like PorcFest, then send money to Kate for it.

Does anyone know of a functional organization that operates this way? It sounds like a great idea, but I personally have no experience with it. I'm semi-familiar with fund accounting.

[Friday]

That way the fsp doesn't really exist. It has no assets and cannot be attacked by the government. It lives in our hearts.

I like that idea.  I wonder if it would really work? Money seems necessary for so many things.  Would such an organizational model attract enough of it? Hmmmm.

[Russell Kanning]

I bet Samuel Adams' group didn't have bank accounts to be siezed.

[Kat Kanning]

I bet the american revolutionaries fought with each other all the time about what was to be done about the British.

[kater]

Individual choice; I like it.  What do you think about us being able to individually vote for and against board members who claim to represent our movement?

Personally, I think that's flawed in two senses: 1) It's not leadership's job to represent anyone.  (Arguably, only Amanda, as media spokesperson, does that.)  Least of all folks who've already moved to NH.  (At which point, I basically considered my obligatory relationship with the FSP terminated.)  It's their job to "run" the organization (handling donations, etc.) and use the org's resources to reach the goal of 20,000; 2)  When you get to the board, I think you'd avoid elections for the same reason we don't elect Supreme Court justices: because their job ought to be primarily interpretive (which is the work for which you all loathe Adam), and some things (like free speech or the right to bear arms) are simply too fundamental to be held at the whims of 51%.  I'd put the FSP's extremely limited mission in that category because keeping the organization narrowly focused is what allows us as individuals to all speak for ourselves.

I'm not saying that board appointments have been universally stellar, but I'm still waiting for a response from Kat re: what she and Eddie did or tried to do that demonstrates the superiority of elected members.  (Thus far, the only advantage that I can see is that their terms are finite, which is something that could be applied to the board without going to elections.) 

I also find it somewhat hilarious to remember facts, which aren't too common around here.  1) One of Adam's earliest attempts at major leadership change involved the suggestion that one of the board seats be elected.  He got slaughtered.  And 2) From what I can tell, Kat's major actions on the board involved nominating Jason to be Chair, and voting in favor of extending Amanda's term as president.  (That's based on board minutes, which I know don't give much info--which is why I've been asking for more.)  Could someone please make a case instead of just screaming "Elections!!" in the middle of a temper tantrum? You have to make a case for, not just a case against...

[Dreepa]

2 were crusty old men like me.? A couple more in the town and we can start rolling back the taxes.

Old?

Well the crusty part.  One kinda looked like you.

[Lloyd Danforth]

If they'd just stay out of people's way and leave them alone -- we'd have all the members we need right now.

Tracy

Bullshit!? You can't just make a claim like that.? Nobody here is coming up with ways to increase membership.

Are you for real? Or are you being sarcastic? Perhaps we wouldn't be at 20,000 yet. But we'd be a heck of a lot closer if the FSP didn't piss on many of the activities that their members have been doing for outreach.

Tracy

I wasn't being sarcastic. ?You are grasping at straws here. What outreach? Some FSP authority types have complained about some of our activities where the name FSP was dragged in. ?Then they go ahead and cover that activity on the website, the portal that new people drawn to the FSP can see what activist are doing in NH and out.
To add to this most of these activities, while they might attract some new members are not, actually, outreach. ?Outreach is leaving NH and attending events where ?people who might be interested in the FSP attend.
Sandy, who started this thread attends some recruitment events in New England as has JonM, Joel, Kevin, Amanda, Dennis and myself.
Either the task of getting 20,000 members is impossible or we are suffering from lack of imagination in both leadership and membership. ?This is the problem, not stiffililing.

[Dreepa]

I bet Samuel Adams' group didn't have bank accounts to be siezed.

John Hancock funded many of Sam Adams 'activities'.