The comment section is filled with gundamentalists making the usual arguments about THEIR RIGHTS. One of those gundamentalists had this to say:
For those of you who are unaware, Rich Paul moved to NH as part of the Free State Project, the group of armed miscreants who are moving en masse to NH with the stated goal of taking over and eliminating our state government, then threatening secession.
Rich Paul lives in Keene with the Free Keene cult. He's in his 50's, and spends a chunk of each year in the county lockup for marijuana related offenses or probation violations. He's unemployed and unemployable.
Rich Paul is regarded as a heroic activist in libertea circles because he smokes pot in public, and dares the police to arrest him. He was arrested for selling pot, which apparently also makes him a hero in the eyes of his fellow Free Staters. They wail about how he was "targeted" because he's pro-marijuana. Apparently it hasn't occurred to them that maybe he's just bad at being a dope dealer.
The Free Staters love to natter on about how peaceful and nonviolent they are. They claim to adhere to the libertarian "non-aggression principle." Here we have a "peaceful" Free Stater wishing death on our governor. Here we see how seriously they take that non-aggression philosophy.
It's clear that Rich Paul doesn't have even a slight grasp of how NH state government functions. Governor Hassan hasn't ever arrested anyone that I'm aware of. She didn't write the federal drug laws. The conceal carry permit statute has been in effect for a century without impacting gun ownership. He's not ever going to be considered one of the great thinkers of the FSP. And, at least he's only wishing death on Governor Hassan. So far.
Some more of the greatest hits of Rich Paul:
He's a real man o' peace, that Rich Paul.
This is what the Free State Project is bringing to our state. Phony peaceniks, armed to the teeth.
The "he's only one guy, don't judge us all..." crowd will be coming by to comment. Thing is, he's NOT just one guy:
Free Stater Muni Savyon murdered his son, then killed himself.
Free Stater (kicked out for show) Chris Cantwell cheers on cop killers and wants to violently overthrow the government.
Free Stater Vin Suprynowicz wrote a book attempting to turn NH mass murderer Carl Drega into a folk hero.
Free Stater Darryl W. Perry is "not opposed to using force if neccessary" to "reclaim freedom."
Free State signer Larken Rose reads his essay "When Should You Shoot a Cop" a video that is from the Cop Block website.
Free Stater Bill Bochyinski owns the Twin Mountain Country Store.
It's not just one guy.
**** See Rich Paul's Rebuttal in the Comment Section!
Charming bunch! Basement dwellers who want their freedom for free. Thank you, Susan, for continuing to shine a light on this cult.
ReplyDeleteRich Paul is over the top here, but he does have a certain integrity. He went to jail rather than become an FBI informer. Put in jail on the words of the coke dealer. But he's not a rat. Not like Whitey Bulger.
ReplyDeleteSteve - the many pleas for guns in Keene weren't over the top???
ReplyDeleteDo we have independent confirmation that the FBI was trying to get him to turn informer, or is that Rich Paul's say so?
Not sure if these people are psychopaths or sociopaths, but whichever, they are scary and need to be watched before they hurt themselves or others, IMHO.
ReplyDeleteIn a country where corporations and those who control them often call the political shots - tailored to protect their interests - I find this obsession with 'evil government' not only fascinating, but ridiculous.
ReplyDeleteThere are limits to every right. A good rule to follow is pondering where my rights begin and where yours begin. Where is that boundary? Where is it collectively? They seem to think there is no 'where your rights begin', only where theirs should not end.
And I find your relatively little concern for government equally ridiculous. The corporations you speak of are nothing without an ability to buy POWER, and where does power come from? Ask Mao.
DeletePeople don't seem to understand that corporations don't want to compete freely. They want to use government to make their continued existence as easy and effortless as possible. Read Gabriel Kolko for heavens sake. Leftist historian who made a libertarian case (I think without knowing it) in his Triumph of Conservatism.
Government can tax me, corporations can't. Government can conscript me, corporations can't. Government can print money, corporations can't. There're huge reasons to be worried about government, which steals and kills on a daily basis, than a stupid corporation who I can pretty well ignore 98% of the time...
While I usually disagree with most of the posts in the blog, I do have to say that this person sounds very uncivil. We need civility and respect when discussing issues. Some people can be very extreme and I believe forget that they are talking about the governor, whether we agree with her or not.
ReplyDeleteAfter looking at your future blog, Alexandria, I'm not at all surprised that you disagree with my viewpoint on anything!
ReplyDeleteI do agree with you about civility. Unfortunately, if you think Free Staters forget that they're talking about the governor, you're very naive. They have no respect for anyone outside of their cult. If you really intend to run for office in 2016, I hope you'll read up on them. The radical conservative right is allied with them. I'll be interested to see how you navigate that alliance in the future.
"Do we have independent confirmation that the FBI was trying to get him to turn informer, or is that Rich Paul's say so?"
ReplyDeleteYeah, watch the trial, the whole thing is online. I love the part where the Boston branch of the fbi "counterterrorism taskforce" fails to prevent the tragedy at the marathon because they're too busy working with the NH DTF to set a coke dealer free in exchange for his testimony against a pot dealer. Why? Because Rich refused to inform for them / wear a wire to the Keene Activist Center. "Special" agent Philip Christiana has been trying to infiltrate for years. Joke's on him, everything is out in the open and there's nothing to infiltrate.
Thanks, William. I appreciate the answer, and the suggestion about watching the trial online.
ReplyDeleteI was with you right up until "everything is out in the open." That's just never true with the FSP, and you and I both know it. All in all, however, a better exchange than we usually manage.
In all honesty, what is there to hide with the FSP and why would the FBI want to invest their time to 'infiltrate' them? Most adherents are pretty shallow wrestlers with a combination of simpleton economics, right wing anti-government jargon, a shit-ton of late twentieth century white-boy butthurt and the resultant obsession with guns and loss of power/manhood.
ReplyDeleteReally a rather boring compendium such as it is, save that it serves the agenda of global corporatists pretty well by alienating people from their civic infrastructure.
Yahoo! Usher in rule by thug! I don't think we need an FBI informant too understand that.
I accidentally deleted Rich Paul's comment for the blog:
ReplyDeleteRich Paul has left a new comment on your post "Free Stater Wishes Death on NH Governor":
I'm 46. Please correct your article.
46 going on 6.
ReplyDeleteRich doesn't smoke marijuana for medicinal purposes. He smokes weed because he's a useless stoner who needs a convenient excuse to dodge employment as much as he dodges soap and water. "I'm not a lose. I'm an activist!".
Rich Paul should make good on his promise to leave for Colorado so the rest of us "xenophobes" can enjoy a breath of air that doesn't wreak of weed and unwashed manchild.
Will Porter - I can't tell you how much I enjoy some libertea guy coming by to tell me what I don't know and what I should read!
ReplyDeleteIt's even more impressive when it comes (as it does in this instance) from someone who didn't A) bother to read the blog post or B) didn't understand it.
Mansplaining - it's fun for everyone!