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Forums discussing NH freedom movement

Started by Dave Ridley, January 09, 2006, 09:01 AM NHFT

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Dave Ridley

#135
August 08, 2007, 11:01 AM NHFT
romak i don't consider myself an ed brown supporter but rather an opponent of hurting ed.  I did consider myself a supporter for a while but yes some of his threats have become a problem for me.

Dave Ridley

#136
August 08, 2007, 05:50 PM NHFT
posted to the follwing boards...
http://seacoastconnects.com/forums/showthread.php?p=48947#post48947
http://www.merrimackforum.org/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=20&t=4267
http://forum.nashuatelegraph.com/viewtopic.php?p=6930#6930
http://nhindymedia.org/newswire/display/4505/index.php


Dave Ridley here from NHfree.com...

Below is a video of my August 5 open carry incident in Manchester.   I was walking to Murphy's Taproom from my car with a holstered Glock 19.   Free Staters have a meeting there the first saturday of each month; many open carry.   A state trooper was driving by, noticed me and stopped me.  I called in to Porcupine 411 (a sort of private 911) and broadcast  an announcement of the encounter.   The video begins with the first part of the call, audio only.  There was a videographer inside setting up to record the meeting.  He saw what was happening, came running out after a minute or so;  that's where the video picks up.

Open carry is legal in New Hampshire but not super common south of the notches.  Cops sometimes ignore, sometimes harass you for doing it.   When the latter happens to me, I don't get angry anymore but use the chance to educate police about our open carry rights.

Friends inside the bar also came running out to support me.  Police thought it was pre-planned it happened so fast, like they'd been set up or something.   But this is just how our guys react when they're nearby.   I appreciate the fact that the police were able to maintain calm and respectful demeanor despite some of the anger directed against them by the crowd.  This would have been a SWAT event in most states. But of course look I forward to the day when they don't make such stops in the first place without probable cause.

I realize open carry is controversial, but it's an important right, one of the few still respected by law (or lack of law).    Rights not exercised atrophy and disappear.  Drop our guard and one day we may end up like Texas where you can lose your license if your weapon ever becomes visible.   The sight of guns on hips tends to remind criminals in New Hampshire...they're better off committing crimes in Mass. 

Note that I am able to lawfully refuse the cops when they ask for my "papers" and personal information.   Live Free or Die is not dead yet.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=5FWXnK5UyRI

Romak

#137
August 08, 2007, 07:54 PM NHFT
Carried open in Manchvegas today, went to Walmart and others and wasnt bothered one iota. Seemed strange to even think about what I was doing. Since I read your story about your experience I find myself thinking about open carry when the thought has never crossed my mind before. Even went to the courthouse as I do once a week and claimed my firearm opon entering and got it back when I left as I always do. Maybe its my shaved head and the minions think Im a cop or something. Got me but Ive never had a problem before.

Dave Ridley

#138
August 15, 2007, 10:28 AM NHFT
sent the msg below to the forums i'm on...this is the most recent version of the msg. spread it if u like

----

Arright sorry for the slow response here.  But I wanted to answer some of the questions/comments posted on this thread and elsewhere, regarding my open carry incident: http://youtube.com/watch?v=5FWXnK5UyRI

First, in response to the folks who are defending the police....you're half right.  The police and trooper acted in a fairly restrained manner compared to what would happen in other states.   This is because others have gone before over the last couple years, and open carried at much greater risk.  Now Manchester Police Department is fairly used to it.   They were probably only there because the state trooper called them.   I've sent notes to Manchester's Police Chief and to Colonel Booth, New Hampshire's head state trooper.   The note to MPD praises two of the responding officers but includes constructive criticism.  The note to Col. Booth praises Trooper Copponi, who in all fairness had only thirty seconds to make his stop decision....and refused to cross certain lines which a bad cop might have raced over.    I also would like to mention something no one else has brought up:   Copponi's course of action wasn't necessarily the easy way out.  It may have been dictated partly by a willingness to risk his own well-being in what he e considered  the pursuit of public safety.
Courage, wherever it is suspected, should always be respected.

Anyway, both notes urge both departments to relax about open carry, and they are attached below.

With regard to the criticism of "Mr. Striped Shirt," who you see raising so much heck over my being stopped...There is a reason why he is so hostile to MPD folks.  Only three people that I know of have the guts to demonstrate outside the hated "free speech zone" when Mr. Bush is here....and continue doing so even after they are informed it will result in their arrest.    In 2006 Russell stood on a completely public street corner with an unremarkable anti-Washington sign....and MPD arrested him for it.    Just because the Emperor was coming to town.

His response in this video isn't precisely what I'd advocate.  I do agree that you shouldn't bait officers or try and humiliate them.  I'd rather win them over to our side, and I genuinely like most of them.  It makes me uncomfortable that Trooper Copponi probably left the situation miffed at us; I'd rather see these things end in good feeling.

But Russell has guts, and I appreciate him being there.   You have to admit nearly no one would be talking about the video otherwise.  Look at my other open carry incident, the one that went so amicably:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=mu4Dr3B3Rg4

Hardly anyone watches that.    Hardly anyone debates the issues because of that video.  The new one, on the other hand, got 40,000 views in ten days. In a sloppy irreverent way, Russell got more people talking about key questions:

Does New Hampshire have a more restrained police community than other states?  When is it appropriate to cooperate with police or give them information about yourself?  What are the capabilities of New Hampshire's liberty community?  Do those capabilities constitute a potential umbrella under which local freedom lovers may protect themselves against government abuses?

How many freedoms do we have left in America?  Do we have freedom of the press when some of the nation's least sadistic cops tell a professional videographer to stop filming them on a public corner?  Do we have freedom of communication when my cell call is brought into question?   Do we have freedom of assembly if police in the freest state can try and stop you from having more than three people standing on a corner?   Do we have freedom to walk the streets without identity papers, and if so is that freedom exercised often enough to keep it secure?  And lastly do we have freedom of self defense if we are questioned by police merely because of a lawfully borne firearm?

In this brief video you see every one of those freedoms threatened, by some of the *least* bad cops in America, in full view of crowd and camera.

Now...I'd like to respond to some of your questions and comments. One opinion runs something like this:

"These cops were obviously entrapped.  I don't believe these libertarian freaks just happened to be prepared for the stop."

That kind of comment is the biggest backhanded compliment of the year...  To reiterate:  The video was not planned, no cops were baited or entrapped....the explanation for the rapid response and high quality of the video is not that hard to swallow.

1) Free Staters meet up in Manchester every week 
2) They wear guns, often openly, to these meetings.
3)  If a cop drives by, they will see guns.
4) If that freaks them out, they will stop one of us
5) If the people inside the meeting see the stop, they will not cower but will go to the scene! 
6) Some of our participants carry video cameras.  A couple of them are professional videographers. If they see something interesting happening...they will videotape it!

It is true that Porcupine 411 is not yet fast enough to trigger a response this rapid...the people simply saw this event through the window of the restaurant and out they flew.

However if you still think this was staged...research it.  Most of the people who witnessed the actual event can be contacted...by you.  Just post any questions you have, to forum.nhfree.com.  If you don't trust the freedom lovers there, maybe you will trust our trolls.

Another common response goes something like this:   "Open carry is a bad idea because it just shows criminals where your gun is, and they might steal it."

Tactically, I see where folks are coming from with this argument.  However, suppose my goal is not tactical but political and social?  Suppose I want to:

1) Remind harmful criminals that Manchester is a heavily armed city, where many, many law abiding citizens are packing
2) Inspire more New Hampshirites to open carry
3) Continue the process of mainstreaming open carry, so that police continue to get more used to it.   Yes, I know Russell didn't act very mainstream.  But by and large MPD is much more calm about this now than they were in 2004...sometimes they're even supportive.  This is because of nice people like Michael Peltier who went out and started DOING it.

None of that is possible by carrying concealed...and for all you know...that Glock on my hip is just an empty decoration to divert thugs from the revolver on my ankle.  Besides, there aren't very many thugs in Manchester.

We have to go out, live as though we were free, and inspire others to do the same. 

I realize this sort of thing is controversial, but we don't need majority support for success.    If this video alienates 70 percent of the people who see it but 1 percent are inspired to join up with us, or fight harder for their freedom, that is a win.   If one freedom fighter moves to New Hampshire because of this video, that is a win.  Virtually all that needs to happen for freedom to be re-established within America, is a couple thousand liberty activists moving to New Hampshire.  Google the words "New Hampshire Liberty" and decide for yourself whether the two hundred fifty early-moving Free Staters have had a positive impact completely out of proportion to their numbers.  Decide for yourself whether a number eight times that size would be decisive.

Here's another response that sticks in my mind:

"As posted before, The OP was in the legal clear. So should a black man eating at predominantly white eatery also be under suspicion because it is out of the norm? Or a black woman who dares to sit at the front of a bus? A person displaying an anti-war sign?"

I've been hearing this comparison over and over again, between what we're doing and what the early civil rights activists used to do.  It's always an honor to hear, and especially cool to hear it so much more as a result of this video. 

Yet another response...some folks say we shouldn't open carry because that might scare NH voters/lawmakers into outlawing open carry.

There is some risk that the NH House could restrict our gun freedom slightly, but in New Hampshire, attempting to ban open carry would just backfire.  The gun movement here is huge and powerful.  500 people turned out this year just to kill an anti-terrorist amendment to the concealed carry laws.  And killed it was, right out of the chute.  In 2005 the House decisively squashed a bill to ban guns in public schools.  That's right...we remain one of the few states where a parent can lawfully wear a pistol to her daughter's classroom.  Many of the reps and senators themselves lawfully carry guns with them to the legislature, as do their constituents.

With regard to Porcupine 411 I'm hoping it can develop into a true private 911 type service for folks to report government-related emergencies.   Help, I'm being pulled over...help, there are Marshalls at my door, etc.  Right now it's a little slow for that but still impressive.

Lastly, as an update...there is scuttlebutt to the effect that MPD was not happy about the State Trooper making this stop.   And there is other scuttlebutt to the effect that they are not happy with *us.*  The restaurant/bar outside which this incident occurred...is expected to come under increased scrutiny.   Not sure why MPD would want to go after a building when their quarrel (if any) is with me.   But they are presumably aware that harassing a successful business, treasured and frequented by hundreds of scrappy Free Staters, owned in fact by some of them....that would be a bureaucrat's nightmare.  And free publicity for the bar.

Anyway those are all my thoughts; as promised here are copies of my notes to MPD and NHDOS, neither of which generated a response.

-----

Sent by e-mail to MPD chief on aug 7

Dear Chief Jaskolka:  I wanted to express appreciation for officer J. Kelly's calm handling of my Saturday open carry incident on Elm St.   The Sergeant who responded also conducted himself well, and I was happy to hear his point of view.   Of course, I look forward to the day when open carriers are not stopped at all without probable cause.    I assume this stop would not have happened were it not for the fact that a State Trooper was driving by.

In my experience your officers have handled open carry well, so well in fact that I usually don't even bother getting their names.   It's important for liberty lovers to keep perspective and remind ourselves that the MPD response is at least superior to the panic that would happen in most states.

Open carry is an essential tool for citizens, as it puts fear into the hearts of harmful criminals...reminding them New Hampshire is a dangerous place to try and harm others.

I do take exception to the fact that one of your officers tried to stop a man from videotaping him and, when he couldn't find more ways to exert authority over us, chose to go after a hapless group of car wash kids for posting a sign.

If you are having a problem with litter, because of fallen signs or what not, call me at the number below, tell me which area you want cleaned and I will schedule a citizen trash cleanup.

There has been some speculation among officers that we plotted this encounter, but that is not the case.   Our people just tend to open carry on their way to meetings.  Where there is a meeting there is usually a camera and a squadron of people looking out for each others' rights.

Respectfully yours,


Dave Ridley
NHfree.com



Note to head of state troopers
Aug 8, 2007

Dear Colonel Booth: 

Sorry for my slowness in getting this message to you.  However I wanted to express my respect for trooper L.A. Copponi's calm handling of my Saturday open carry incident in Manchester.   Although I object to police making stops of pedestrians simply because of open carry...I do recognize that trooper Copponi had under half a minute to make his stop-or-don't-stop decision.  If he's anything like most cops, he probably does not deal very often with citizens who responsibly exercise their right to open carry.   At least he approached the situation with an open mind.

It's important for liberty lovers to keep perspective and remind ourselves that the NHDOS response is at least Superior to the panic that would happen in most states.

Open carry is an essential tool for NH citizens, as it puts fear into the hearts of harmful criminals...reminding them New Hampshire is a dangerous place to try and harm others.  It's not as useful for defense as concealed carry, but if we don't use this tool and exercise this right...we will lose it.  More New Hampshirites are doing so, and your men will see more of us as time passes.  Soon I hope you will come to see us as a routine thing.

You may also be aware that I exercised another generally atrophied right during the stop, the right of a pedestrian to refuse police requests for identification cards.  Again, I assume it's not super common for people to exercise this right, but that is why it is so important to exercise.   It too needs to become more common.  There are only a few rights left which government recognizes, thus we must exercise them well and often.  Otherwise we'll lose what few of them remain.

Respectfully yours,


Dave Ridley
NHfree.com

Romak

#139
August 28, 2007, 10:14 AM NHFT
Dada my compliments to you for fighting for the most important right we have in my opinion. Id open carry with you anytime  ;)

Dave Ridley

#140
September 16, 2007, 10:45 PM NHFT

submitted the message below (or some version thereof) to the following NH forums:

http://www.merrimackforum.org/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=20&t=4353
http://seacoastconnects.com/forums/showthread.php?goto=newpost&t=3730
http://forum.nashuatelegraph.com/viewtopic.php?p=8735#8735
http://nhindymedia.org/newswire/display/4780/index.php
http://community.myfoxboston.com/boards/topic.aspx?topic_id=108135

and the following pro liberty forums:

http://tcftalk.com/clairefiles/index.php?topic=15296.0
http://www.wendymcelroy.com/smf/index.php?topic=3506.0
http://www.strike-the-root.com/cgi-local/yabb/YaBB.pl?board=general;action=display;num=1189820243;start=0
http://anti-state.com/forum/index.php?board=1;action=display;threadid=19881
http://ronpaulforums.com/showthread.php?p=190225#post190225
http://bbs.freetalklive.com/index.php?topic=16215.0
http://realcent.forumco.com/topic~TOPIC_ID~1323.asp

and the following national forums:

http://www.politicalcrossfire.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=2362528#2362528
http://www.whistlestopper.com/forum/showthread.php?p=1064565#post1064565
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1896992/posts
http://www.uspoliticsonline.com/state-local-politics/40819-will-ron-paul-nh-liberty-forum-january.html#post1072119
http://www.libertynewsforum.com/libertynewsforumcgi/news/YaBB.pl?num=1189865296/0#0
http://www.volconvo.com/forums/politics-government/18413-will-ron-paul-nh-liberty-forum.html#post430719
http://merit.nosync.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=6832
http://digg.com/2008_us_elections/Ron_Paul_2008_Chicago_VIP_Reception_September_22

-----

NH: Will Ron Paul attend the Free Staters' January bash?

Invitation to u IAP folks: get yer butts to New Hampshire Jan 3 - 6, 2008.

That's the second annual New Hampshire Liberty Forum, put on by the Free Staters.  It's a good chance to experience NH and decide whether you really want to remain in that authoritarian state you currently live in.

Keynote speakers have yet to be announced, but last year's speakers included presidential candidate Ron Paul and John Stossell from ABC news....plus, it seemed, half the NH legislature.   We had a lot of fun; turnout was around 300.   And of course there's a lot more going on....This year the forum occurs right before the likely date of the NH presidential primary.  So you can hopefully experience that too.

Here's a new trailer from last year's Liberty Forum:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_9FgwBdaNTg

and all the who-what-where-when-how for this year:

http://freestateproject.org/libertyforum/


Forum.NHfree.com
Keeping NH Free
From Keene to Shining Sea

Dave Ridley

#141
September 25, 2007, 07:09 PM NHFT Last Edit: October 02, 2007, 10:18 AM NHFT by DadaOrwell
post msg below to web forums below

----

As some of you may know I'm a news videograper by trade....
So I've started shooting semi-daily news/opinion reports about the fight for freedom in New Hampshire. B-Roll, natural sound and interviews are king here...this is not the youtube you're accustomed to.  If you  want to see what you're missing, and see it the way I see it...Drop by my "news channel."

http://youtube.com/dadaorwell

I'm following mostly the Ron Paul revolution, the Ed Brown situation and the Free Staters. But if you are doing something you think is newsworthy, give me a shout and maybe I can cover it. Drop by forum.nhfree.com and PM me, "DadaOrwell"

I edit in the camera so my reports usually "air" within 24 hours of being shot...this is news, not MTV. After roughly two weeks on the air I have about 6,000 views, but haven't started marketing this yet.

Agree with me or not, I welcome your responses to the reports.



http://www.merrimackforum.org/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=20&t=4365
http://seacoastconnects.com/forums/showthread.php?p=53653#post53653
http://thementalmilitia.com/forums/index.php?board=22.0
http://www.wendymcelroy.com/smf/index.php?board=3.0
http://www.strike-the-root.com/cgi-local/yabb/YaBB.pl?board=general;action=display;num=1191119278;start=0
http://anti-state.com/forum/index.php?board=1;action=display;threadid=20000

http://ronpaulforums.com/showthread.php?t=21352
http://forum.nashuatelegraph.com/viewtopic.php?p=9512#9512

http://bbs.freetalklive.com/index.php?topic=16686.0
http://nhindymedia.org/newswire/display/4942/index.php
http://www.politicalcrossfire.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=2392596#2392596
http://www.whistlestopper.com/forum/showthread.php?p=1072178#post1072178
http://realcent.forumco.com/topic~TOPIC_ID~1393.asp
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1905363/posts   FReepers
http://boards.billmaher.com/showthread.php?p=1091060#post1091060
http://www.uspoliticsonline.com/forums/showthread.php?p=1081743#post1081743
http://www.libertynewsforum.com/libertynewsforumcgi/news/YaBB.pl?num=1191336398/0#0
http://www.volconvo.com/forums/entertainment-media/18684-free-stater-tv-station-new-hampshire.html#post436161
http://libertypost.org/cgi-bin/readart.cgi?ArtNum=201766
http://digg.com/political_opinion/Free_Stater_TV_station_in_New_Hampshire

Dave Ridley

#143
October 04, 2007, 08:56 AM NHFT
Canario arrest triggers instant protest at NH jail

Here's the video news story that aired yesterday on the Ridley Report:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=Gz1kbmDqsyc

Legendary eminent domain foe Lauren Canario of Winchester, New Hampshire was arrested Oct. 2 for driving without a license.  She refuses to use one.  Canario earned notariaty for refusing to leave a Connecticutt home condemned under the infamous "Kelo vs. New London" decision.

She also refused to cooperate with police, using her trademark techniques of nonviolent noncooperation.

Dave Ridley

#144
October 06, 2007, 08:31 AM NHFT
NH: Ed Brown protest interrupted by Fed manhunt

http://youtube.com/RidleyReport

From yesterday.  Part 1 of 2.

U.S. Marshals on the hunt for Ed Brown supporter Rob Jacobs of Manchester...descend on 2 key Free Stater hangouts.  We get the news in the middle of a demonstration and rush to document the activity.

http://thementalmilitia.com/forums/index.php?topic=15509.0
http://www.wendymcelroy.com/smf/index.php?topic=3569.0
http://www.strike-the-root.com/cgi-local/yabb/YaBB.pl?board=general;action=display;num=1191677243;start=0
http://anti-state.com/forum/index.php?board=1;action=display;threadid=20036
http://bbs.freetalklive.com/index.php?board=1.0

Dave Ridley

#147
October 25, 2007, 09:21 AM NHFT
http://www.merrimackforum.org/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=20&t=4410
http://seacoastconnects.com/forums/showthread.php?p=56972#post56972
http://forum.nashuatelegraph.com/viewtopic.php?p=10911#10911
(free talk live forum also)

====


Clinton, Obama campaigns asked to leave Nashua fair for nonpayment

Story aired on the Ridley Report the other day...you may have to scroll down:

http://youtube.com/RidleyReport

Nashua Telegraph later picked it up:

http://www.nashuatelegraph.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071012/NEWS08/310120091

Note the praise for Ron Paul, whose staff *did* pay the $100 fee.

Don't have the Digg link handy but it was listed as "made popular" so I think that means it hit the front page?

d_goddard

#148
October 25, 2007, 09:54 AM NHFT
Quote from: DadaOrwell on October 25, 2007, 09:21 AM NHFT
Clinton, Obama campaigns asked to leave Nashua fair for nonpayment
Story aired on the Ridley Report the other day...you may have to scroll down:
http://youtube.com/RidleyReport
You may want to update your posts on those forums with the link direct to the video in question:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=nz4WaTjH60s

Quote from: DadaOrwell on October 25, 2007, 09:21 AM NHFT
Don't have the Digg link handy but it was listed as "made popular" so I think that means it hit the front page?
Correct :)

Dave Ridley

#149
October 30, 2007, 08:58 AM NHFT
msg below sent to
http://seacoastconnects.com/forums/showthread.php?p=57365#post57365

-----

Not very many of us showed up for this first one, but it will get bigger with time...and the area around my place sure is clean now!   The video report aired at:

http://ridleyreport.com

you may have to scroll down to find the right story.
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