launch of the free state observer

I'm relocating this blog to http://www.freestateobserver.com , a new website providing an insiders' view of liberty activism in the Free State of New Hampshire. Please update your bookmarks and follow me there!

when it rains, it pours

It's been a rough week for your intrepid reporter. Last Sunday I was snowbound by the biggest snowstorm of the season, lasting from before I woke up until well past dark. The next day, the weather reverted to unseasonably warm, so that the 16.5 inches of beautiful snow we got disappeared quite rapidly. On Friday it poured, which destroyed what little snow was left. Meanwhile, I've had the worst toothache of my life, on and off (mostly on), all week. It was the first Valentine's Day since splitting up with my husband. I had to work overtime every day. And the biggest project I'm assigned to at work is rapidly turning into a shitstorm of legendary proportions. Meanwhile, a friend sent me an angry, expletive-laced email commenting on a few of my personality flaws. I think I set a new personal record for quantity of alcohol consumed; if only drinking were an Olympic sport, "I mighta been a contendah!" Despite all that, I found time to speak with a PR consultant about a possible magazine interview on women and guns, which would get the FSP some much-needed publicity. And I have been working feverishly on the next incarnation of this blog, which should be ready for launch within the next week; stay tuned! On a more positive note, I was gruntled to be elected to the FSP's Board of Directors. Crafty strategic move on the part of the voters, or blatant example of the tyranny of the majority and democracy run amok? Guess you'll have to decide that for yourself.

"What an incredible Cinderella story, this unknown comes outta no where to lead the pack, at Augusta. He's on his final hole, he's about 455 yards away -- he's gonna hit about a 2-iron, I think. Oh he got all of that one! ... This crowd has gone deathly silent, the Cinderella story, outta nowhere, a former greenskeeper now -- about to become The Masters champion. It looks like a mirac -- It's in the hole!" - Bill Murray, in a manically brilliant improvisational moment

only fools rush in

There have been numerous attempts to form libertarian "intentional communities" i.e. getting a group of libertarians to move to the same general area, whether it be a town, a county, an island, a state, a floating structure, etc. Some failed before they even got started; some went down in flames; and some are just getting going. The Free State Project is definitely in the third category, and in my opinion has already resulted in the formation of a legitimate libertarian community in New Hampshire. The wedding I attended this weekend demonstrates this beautifully. Background info: About a year ago JR, an FSP participant, early mover, tireless liberty activist, and all-around cool guy, hooked up with AB, a lifelong native of NH, a total sweetheart who works with disadvantaged youth, loves to cook, is always willing to lend a hand, but please don't try telling her what to do because she is a Yankee through and through and it's just not gonna happen. (She can also handle a deck of cards like a Vegas dealer.) I met JR before I even moved to New Hampshire; when I made a scouting trip here, he drove 60 miles to attend a Monadnock Porcupines meeting that he knew I would be attending, to "lobby" on behalf of Manchester. The Monadnock group lobbied on behalf of the Keene region; the Seacoast Porcupines group leader lobbied on behalf of the Seacoast. It was like the Dating Game: three men I had never met before all urging me to move to THEIR town! I wound up moving to Manchester, and through a combination of joint political activism, a shared love of sci fi, and an inability to defeat AB at poker, came to consider JR a friend. Even so, when I received an invitation to his wedding, I was surprised; I haven't been to that many weddings. Actually, since moving to New Hampshire, I now have a far bigger and more active "social circle" than I've ever had in my life; not a month goes by that there isn't a party, a BBQ, a dinner party, a poker game, a group outing to the movies... It's really nice. And I got all this without having to get up early on Sunday morning, pay membership dues or wear a fez. Prior to the wedding, I had many unanswered questions: who else was invited? Would I be fed? Was it going to be a religious ceremony, a civil ceremony, or neither? I had no idea about the religious leanings of the bride and groom. I knew that some libertarians are opposed to government sanctioned marriage. The ceremony was to take place in an Elks Club, but I had no idea what that means; I have a vague sense that an Elks Club is a fraternal organization where guys sit around wearing antlers. The day arrived. I carpooled with another guest, a Free Stater who was lucky enough to have already been living in NH when it won the state vote, so no move was required. He has been a libertarian activist in NH for a good 25 years now, and has many stories to tell. Arriving at the Elks Club, it immediately looked like it was going to be a fun evening: there was food, a bar (which guests were visiting before the ceremony even took place), a dance floor, and libertarians everywhere you looked. Seriously, there were probably more libertarians at that wedding than at most state LP conventions. Some people were formally dressed; others weren't. The ubiquitous cute little kids scampered around. The ceremony, which turned out to be civil (i.e. legally binding) but not religious, was short and sweet. JR's coolness quotient escalated in my book when I realized that the man performing the ceremony was the chair of the New Hampshire Libertarian Party (apparently he's a justice of the peace)! The best man, another FSP early mover, toasted the bride and groom. The newlyweds danced their first dance (to Elvis' Can't Help Falling in Love). All official business then out of the way, we were free to eat, drink, dance and make merry, which we most certainly did. A DJ spun popular tunes and coordinated various games, and everyone was a good sport about participating. Male relatives of the bride performed a surprisingly realistic Chippendales-style strip-tease. The highlight of the evening had to be the command performance of the Village People's YMCA by four high profile FSP early movers: SC as the construction worker; VS as the Indian chief; CP as the traffic cop (and can that guy dance! who knew??); and most comically, RK as the cop. It was hilarious. All in all, a wonderful evening.

schoolhouse rock

When I was a kid, Saturday morning was one of the highlights of my week. My mom would usually buy something sugar-laden and unhealthy like cinnamon rolls or fruit-filled Danish pastries, and I'd wake up extra early to get in a good solid morning of sugar buzz and cartoons. Bugs Bunny was my favorite, always sticking it to the man and delivering a well-timed smartass remark. I also enjoyed Schoolhouse Rock episodes, which were little musical cartoons designed to be educational. And they actually worked! I still know all the words to the Preamble of the Constitution, although I have an embarrassing tendency to sing them. I know the purpose of a conjunction, as well as several other grammatical constructs. And I remember the sad little bill stuck in committee, hoping to one day become a real live law. I've been thinking about that little bill a lot lately, because I've been participating in the New Hampshire Liberty Alliance's bill triage team and reading bills 'til my eyes bleed. Basically, the team reads every single bill going through the New Hampshire legislature, rates each one as to its pro- or anti-liberty qualities, and tries to mobilize activists to lobby for or against particularly noteworthy ones. There are 1031 bills this session, so you can imagine the effort involved. There are about 30 of us working on this, most of us recent transplants to the state as members of the Free State Project. After a day at the office, my coworkers go home and watch Friends reruns or American Idol. I go home and read the latest "masterpieces" coming out of the House Committee on Environment and Agriculture, as well as the Senate Committee on Environment and Wildlife. Frankly, it's a bit demoralizing; there are so many bad (by "bad" I mean anti-liberty, pro-big government) bills, and a few laughably stupid ones, not to mention the ones that make me want to pound my head against my keyboard in frustration. And this is in New Hampshire; I shudder to even think about what's going through the California legislature right now. We are so few in number here; we can't fight them all. In fact, we can't fight more than a fraction of them, hence the use of the term "triage", which means sorting the ones who can be saved from those who are goners. I console myself by imagining myself in my favorite David vs Goliath scenarios from various books and movies (the ones in which David WINS, obviously!): Luke Skywalker and the Rebel Alliance vs Darth Vader and the Galactic Empire... Malcolm Reynolds and the crew of Serenity vs the Alliance and the men with blue hands... Mad Max vs western Australia... Harry Potter vs Lord Voldemort (ok, it remains to be seen who's going to win that one, but my money's on the Boy who Lived). At any rate, my point is that, while it sometimes looks grim, it's not hopeless. That's not the fat lady singing; it's just a bill, only a bill, sitting there on Capitol Hill....