In Pursuit of the Aggressor

December 05, 2008 at 12:08 PM | categories: free state project, pissed off | View Comments

I've been feeling pretty good lately, I have a decent job, a wonderful wife, awesome friends, and a new-found purpose in life: liberty activism in New Hampshire. In a world as messed up as ours, its been a profound comfort to have found such peace and purpose. But I've also been a bit startled recently including having feelings of helplessness, distrust, and insecurity.

My truck got broken into.

I had just gotten home from work and not 10 minutes transpired before I heard a loud crash and some rustling outside. As I rushed out the door, I saw someone had broken the window of my truck and was diving inside to grab my video camera. Before I knew it, I was several blocks away from my house, running full speed 10 feet behind the guy who was also running like hell. I kept chasing him, never quite closing the gap between him and myself until I ran out of energy. He turned the corner and I followed a bit more slowly. Knowing he was hiding, I looked closely in the darkness for him and I finally saw the guy dash from his hiding spot and continue running away. I said a few more unkind words in his direction as he fled, but there was nothing more for me to do. Out of breath, dejected, and quite frustrated, I walked back home. Kellie was already outside at this point wondering what had happened, we assessed the damage and confirmed that he had destroyed the passenger side window of my truck and managed to steal my video camera.

My Landlord had already called the cops and they showed up about 10 minutes later. Since they were there anyway, I gave them my take on what happened, although I had never really gotten a good look at the guy. I really didn't have much hope that the police would ever do anything (and in an ideal world we wouldn't have such agents of force). Kellie left to do her own reconnaissance at the corner store and surprised me when she told me that she saw the same cops doing actual detective work, questioning the store manager. Although I'm almost sure that these same men have violated the rights of peaceful individuals before, and will most likely continue to do so in their roles as agents of the state, I'm glad that they take their jobs seriously enough to want to protect peace when they can.

I don't really leave anything that valuable in my truck. The camera is a somewhat cheap Samsung SC-MX10, I had it mounted to my dash with a Modifry camera mount (The mount got ripped out with the camera), this setup was supposed to record the cops if I ever got pulled over. Sadly, I never got to try that out. I'm sure that the way I had it mounted made it stand out as an easy target for a thief.

I called up my insurance rep as well as an auto glass shop and got things taken care of pretty quickly, the auto glass shop was even willing to drive out to my house the next day and repair it right there even while I went to work that day. I love how market competition makes this so easy.

In total, I'm out $200 for the camera, $25 for the mount, and $163.15 for the glass. Yea, $388 is kind of a lot. However I was much more irritated with the inconvenience of it all, as well as the knowledge that there are people right in my neighborhood that have no reservations in actively destroying their society. The reason I'm here in NH is to work towards creating a civil and voluntary society. Its one thing to disagree with my ideas, I'm used to that. Its quite another to find that you live in a community where some percentage of the people do the exact opposite; creating a society of violence and distrust.

I'm left with a renewed sense of the importance of security, including responsible firearms ownership and carrying whenever possible. I don't actually think that a gun would have been useful in this situation, especially after the incident was carried onto the open street at 12 mph, but knowing first hand that desperation has led people to such forceful actions, it makes me much more cautious.

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Is Ryan going to jail?

November 14, 2008 at 03:56 PM | categories: liberty rants, pissed off | View Comments

I've come to the realization that I will be going to jail in the near future. Not for hurting anyone, but because the oppressive and unconstitutional powers-that-be see me as an Enemy of the State and an affront to their illegitimate power.

Two friends of mine have recently been thrown in jail. Neither of them have harmed, had any intention of harming, nor even inconvenienced, anyone. Their "crimes" are for having "contempt" for the state-funded thugs that wish to bully them into compliance with their procedures. Their only "crime" is that they had some questions, questions that the state did not want to hear.

Lauren Canario, who was invited to the federal court building to retrieve her camera (that the feds stole from her), walked through a metal detector checkpoint at a time when the guards weren't looking. She was ordered to go back through the checkpoint and was subsequently arrested when she asked why she was required to do so. She'll be in federal prison for 30 days.

Ian Freeman, of Free Talk Live, today was arrested over a couch. You can read the backstory of his case where his tenants have an old couch in his yard that the city of Keene wants removed. Ian is very willing to remove the couch, but simply wants to talk to the person who made the original complaint. Instead of hiding behind the force of government, the original complainant should speak to Ian in a friendly, neighborly way just as civilized communities ought to behave.

Instead, Ian was compelled to go to court today. He went there having every intention of complying with the request to remove the couch. He has also made this very clear to the court on previous occasions. He simply wanted to demand that he be confronted by his accuser, as is his constitutional right. However, within 45 seconds of entering the court room, he was railroaded into being found in contempt of court and was immediately arrested. The court removed the public observers from the room and only allowed them to view Ian on camera (without audio) to monitor the proceedings. The judge found him guilty, despite not being shown his accuser, and he has been sentenced to three days in prison for the matter of the couch and 90 days for being in contempt of the court's proceedings.

The Keene city court has today shown that it is a court that does not recognize the right to be confronted with one's accusers, a court that does not recognize the right to have a public trial, and a court which has gone way beyond simply upholding the "rule of law". What country is this exactly?!? The Keene city court has decided that it has a personal vendetta against all local liberty activists. Accordingly, the prospect of me going to prison is a virtual forgone conclusion. I will refuse to back down from asserting my rights when the time comes. My line in the sand was crossed quite some time ago.

The state thinks it can quell liberty simply by flexing its muscles. On the contrary, an equal, and very much opposite reaction is about to occur.

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FBI Raids Liberty Dollar HQ -- Loots all the Gold!

November 16, 2007 at 09:00 AM | categories: liberty rants, pissed off | View Comments

I am shocked and incredibly upset.

The Liberty Dollar offices have been raided by the FBI and Secret Service. They have stolen ALL of the gold, ALL of the silver, ALL of the platinum.. All the computers that have unfulfilled orders and customer records, all the digital liberty dollars, all the US Currency, all of the nearly two tons of new Ron Paul liberty dollars, all the telephones.... everything! It's all GONE.

The Liberty Dollar has been an alternative, precious metal backed, currency in America for over 9 years, with over 20 million liberty dollars in circulation. The US Mint has specified a few different times that although the currency is not recognized by the federal government, it is nonetheless, 100% legal. But that's besides the point. Obviously the federal government now thinks that is illegal. Are you OK with this?

Stop trusting the government!

They are thugs, thieves, crooks, and liars. Can the government just take away the wealth of the people for whatever reason? Can the government deem illegal what simply amounts to a certificate for a certain amount of gold? Can the government destroy a mans entire livelihood with a single stomping of it's massive boot of authority? The Liberty dollar in no way appears nor purports to be a US dollar. It is not counterfeit money. It is real money and the government decided they wanted it for themselves.. so they took it.

Regardless of what the government says is a crime, the circulation of the Liberty dollar is in no way a crime. In US law there is a clear prerequisite that must be met for a crime to have even occurred: Corpus Delicti. Crimes have to have a victim. If there is no victim then there is no crime. Period. Where is the victim in distributing alternative, and clearly marked currency? The only victims here are victims at the hand of the government: those that had their money stolen from, as well as the rest of us that are now barred, by precedent, from ever having the opportunity of owning sound and value backed money. The government is the only criminal.

Why would the FBI, after over 9 years of the liberty dollar in existence, now decide to destroy the liberty dollar? Are they afraid of something? Is it because the value of the US dollar is plummeting and will soon be worthless?

This is not the America that I believe in. The America that I believe in is one focused on liberty, entrepreneurial spirit, and justice. The FBI and Secret Service have shown that they support NOT ONE of these goals. I can no longer pay my income tax with any sort of a sound conscience. If I continue to do so, it will be for fear of being put in prison and for no other reason. I hope that I can build up some sort of courage.

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