Nature's Sweet Secret Sugar House

Located in Goffstown, NH, The Caron family sugar operation is family owned and growing each year.





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130 Reasons to move to Keene

Visit FreeKeen.com

A lot has changed in Keene since this list was originally published in March of 2008. Since then the activist population here has increased significantly and more activists are arriving each month while still others are planning their moves to Keene.
Keene is still the best destination for pro-liberty activists, now more than ever! From an activist perspective, it is challenging and full of exciting, ground floor opportunity. Whatever your brand of activism, whether political, disobedience/noncooperation, or media, you are welcome here. Here are some reasons why you should consider a move to Keene. Please feel free to link to, copy, and use this list however you like. Please visit the Free Keene Forum for discussion.
Update: Here’s a video version of the 130+ Reasons:




Keene Liberty Activism
There is so much to do in Keene, and the self-starting activists that are attracted here are always coming up with new ideas! Here are some of the regularly scheduled activist opportunities happening in Keene as of this publication. Please see our Calendar to see what is happening!

1. Monthly FIJA Outreach – Keeniacs have been handing out jury nullification info every time jury selection is held, in front of Cheshire Superior Court since August of 2008!
2. Courtroom Activism – Have you ever not stood for a robed man? We do it all the time up here, among other things like refusing to stop recording in public places. Whenever an activist is forced into their so-called justice system, the activist can count on other activists to be there in support!
3. Courtroom Outreach – Activists are distributing info before arraignments to the victims of state aggression, suggesting refusing plea bargains in the hopes of crushing an already overburdened system.
4. Robin Hood’s Parking Meter Rescues – Activists walk around downtown Keene, spot cars at expired parking meters, and buy them some extra time, saving the cars’ owners from parking tickets! Activists leave envelopes on the windshields of the cars they save so drivers know who is responsible and giving the owners a chance to send in a contribution to the effort.
5. Calling WKBK’s “Talkback” – Activists tune into a local Saturday morning politico show, pick up their phones, and present the pro-liberty message to the hosts and listening audience. See the details in the Free Keene Forum.
6. Television Production – Free Minds TV is produced weekly in Keene at Cheshire TV by liberty activists.
7. High & Middle School Outreach – Activists visit Keene High School and Middle School with signage or sometimes fliers and cds and reach out to students with our pro-liberty message.
8. College Outreach – Activists visit the campus of Keene State College several times each year to distribute fliers and reach out to the students.
9. Keene Freedom Fest – Activists gather twice yearly in Railroad Square to reach out to the public, socialize, enjoy music, and spread the word of freedom!
10. 4:20 and Nightcaps – In Sept. of 2009, 4:20s began to be held in Central Square and kept going strong for months, despite aggression by Keene Police in the beginning. 4:20s still happen pretty much daily with mostly locals attending. Here’s a great article about them from Cannabis Culture. Also, socializing and civil disobedience continues after dark in Keene. Central Square has been won by activists as a DMZ for personal freedom, so it seems smoking cannabis and even open container can happen anytime without police intervention. With that in mind, Adam and Pete from Liberty on Tour kicked off the now-well-attended “nightcaps” in Central Sq. Nightcaps tend to occur at 11pm and involve socializing and recreation. Open containers of alcohol are enjoyed and cannabis consumed as well. Good times!
11. Keene is the world destination for pro-liberty civil disobedience and noncooperation! We’ve had people arrested for all kinds of things here that of course do not involve a victim.
12. If you’re going to do disobedience, Keene is a great place to get arrested and jailed. The jail is run by a man who tries to bring as much humanity to an inhumane system as possible, Rick Van Wickler (he’s a Law Enforcement Against Prohibition speaker). It’s nice to have a jail that’s not run by a sadist. It’s still a jail, but there are many across America that are FAR worse than Cheshire County Jail. The jail is brand new, with construction finished in 2010.

Keene Social Activity and Community Involvement
Every week activists gather multiple times to forge friendships and help the community. Liberty minded people are often criticized for being cold-hearted because they don’t support government welfare, when of course it’s the coercion that a liberty-minded person is against. Activists involve themselves in local charity because they believe in helping others – on a consensual basis.

1. Social Sundays – Activists meet weekly on Sundays for “Social Sundays / Game Nite” and socialize, strategize, and brainstorm as well as play board and card games. This event draws dozens each week!
2. Free Keene Karaoke – Typically happening Saturday nights – activists gather to sing their favorite tunes and be merry.
3. Movie Night – Weekly gathering of activists for moving-watching on Tuesday nights in nearby Winchester.
4. Monadnock Families for Liberty has been formed to bring liberty-loving families together for social activities.
5. Social Events – Activists meet weekly on Sundays for “Social Sundays / Game Nite” and socialize, strategize, and brainstorm as well as play board and card games. This event draws dozens each week! Also happening on a weekly basis are Movie Night and Karaoke! See the calendar for details.
6. Community Kitchen Volunteering – Activists contribute time each week at the Keene Community Kitchen.
7. Quarterly Food & Book Drive – Four times per year, activists contribute food to the Keene Community Kitchen and books to the Cheshire county jail.
8. Project Graduation – Once per year liberty activists turnout to help with “Project Graduation”, an event for high school seniors to celebrate their escape from the government indoctrination camps with an overnight party held at the school.
9. Home of the historic 4:20 Cannabis Celebrations – Activists and regular Keeniacs gathered daily in Central Square in the heart of Downtown Keene to smoke out in daily 4:20 cannabis celebrations! The fun started publicly on 9/23/09 and has involved upwards of 100+ participants! Only a few arrests were made in the beginning days, and since then the police haven’t bothered anyone smoking in the park at any time of the day or night. It’s a major civil disobedience success story! There has been a lot of media coverage – here’s an awesome article by Cannabis Culture. Search the Free Keene blog for more. NOTICE – this event is no longer daily at any specific time and involves mostly regular Keeniacs, not liberty activists, so if you are visiting Keene, this is not the best place to meet the activist community! Check our Calendar for activist events.

Keene: Liberty Media Capital of the World
No one has dared challenge this claim. Keene has more pro-liberty media for you to consume, distribute, and help create than anywhere else in the world. Here’s the current list:

1. Free Minds TV & Radio – Hosted by liberty-loving NH natives Toby and Nick, FMTV is widely distributed on cable access channels across New England and originates from Keene’s Cheshire TV. The nationally syndicated talk radio version of the show also originates from the Liberty Radio Network Studio in Keene.
2. Obscured Truth Network – OTN Productions’ Samiam has located his TV studio in Keene and distributes his pro-liberty news and documentary work on Youtube, FreeKeene.com, and on Cheshire TV.
3. Free Talk Live – Internationally syndicated, pro-liberty talk radio originating from the Liberty Radio Network Studio in Keene. Airs locally on 1290 WKBK and 1220 WZBK.
4. Liberty Radio Network – This 24/7 streaming audio collection of the best liberty oriented shows on the internet originates from Keene.
5. Anarchy in Your Head – Pro-liberty comic strip drawn in Keene, AiYH appears internationally via the internet and locally in the NH Free Press.
6. The CRAP Campaign – Satirical video productions by liberty activists featuring “Byron Kingsley”.
7. FreeKeene.com – Multi-user, multimedia blog by Keene-area liberty activists. Features include a calendar, forum, chat room, live streaming video of activism, free audiobooks, this list, and more.
8. NH Free Press – Formerly the Keene Free Press, this pro-liberty newspaper published by Free Staters is widely available in Keene. The NH Free Press has now partnered with the Free Keene Press, and is now two newspapers in one!

Keene’s Challenges
Keene is a challenging opportunity. If you want easy street, you should look at some other areas of the state. On the other hand if you’re ready to accept what is and be the change you wish to see in the world, this is where you want to be. With that in mind, here are some of the challenges in Keene:

1. Courtroom Crackdown – The Keene District Court has banned cameras from the court lobby and has even arrested Ridley Report‘s Dave Ridley and OTN‘s Sam Dodson, over it. This situation continues to develop.
2. Close proximity to both Massachusetts and Vermont + college town = lots of socialists and statists.
3. Some of the highest property taxes in NH.
4. Existing state representatives have poor NHLA liberty ratings. Most are ranked as “Constitutional Threat”.
5. Zoning board stifling new and existing businesses.
6. Crackdown on property freedom in downtown “Historic District”.
7. More housing for incoming Keeniacs needed.

Keene’s Advantages and Opportunities
It’s not all doom and gloom – the future is bright here in Keene. Here are some already existing advantages as well as a few of the activist opportunities. Of course, you can always identify and create your own and activists looking for an opportunity will join you! Get in on the ground floor of the peaceful evolution in Keene!

1. Free Marketeers, Voluntaryists, and Agorists will find a number of like-minded individuals in Keene. The voluntaryist viewpoint is the core of the activist community in Keene. If you are looking for the largest community of principled activists, this may be it.
2. Keene cops not as nasty as bigger cities like Manchester. They are more tolerant of cameras, and typically easier-going than their their thin-blue-line brethren in other cities. Some, like Shane Maxfield are openly friendly to liberty ideas, while still doing wrong and enforcing bad laws. It’s not police utopia, but it could be a lot worse, like it is in Nashua.
3. Keene bureaucrats tend to not be as unfriendly as bureaucrats in other cities. The small size of Keene means they are less anonymous than bureaucrats in bigger cities, so they have to keep up their image.
4. Highest concentration of liberty-oriented media in the world – radio, television, internet, and newsprint. Nowhere else will the general population encounter the liberty message as often as they do in Keene. All this media serves as an activist attractor as well, meaning more activists will come to Keene over time, hopefully including you!
5. Establishment confused, angry, and unsure of what to do about liberty activism in Keene. Some seem to believe they can arrest their way out of it, but that just gets publicized and more activists move because of their aggression. It must be frustrating to be a bureaucrat or politician in Keene.
6. Establishment attempted to publish a hitpiece blog against Free Staters but only resulted in more positive publicity for us. They quietly took the blog off-line.
7. Our first candidate for city council in 2007 received thousands of dollars in free press coverage including two front page news articles and radio and tv interviews. That same candidate spent $70 and did very little campaigning, yet received over 22% of the vote. The 2009 election resulted in 24% voting for NH native and Free Keene blogger Nick Ryder. Keene does not have very many political activists, so it’s a wide open opportunity for the more politically inclined.
8. It’s easy to be a big fish in the small pond of Keene if you are interested in politics, as there are so few people out here. Keene has 1/4th the population as Manchester, so campaigning is easier and your public profile is larger. In some cases, candidates run unopposed for local election.
9. Operation Politically Homeless outreach shows that Keene residents are overwhelmingly either libertarian or liberal. Self-described liberals tend to be somewhat easier to convert to understanding liberty.
10. Liberty-friendly Housing – Available but always in high demand. Investors may want to consider purchasing a multi-family home, owner occupying, and creating options for incoming movers while collecting rent and living with all your bills paid!
11. Cheshire TV – This cable access channel is the only local TV source in Keene and is therefore highly watched in the community. You can create your own television show, or work on one of the existing liberty oriented shows.
12. WKBK 1290 – Popular news/talk station with no call screening. Great way to get your pro-liberty views out to a general audience.
13. WZBK 1220 – Another news/talker, this one “progressive” and simulcast from WKVT AM in Brattleboro. No call screener on their morning show.
14. WKNH 91.3 – College radio station with on-air opportunities. Start your own show!
15. The Keene Sentinel – daily paper with fair reporting, could use some letters to the editor.
16. Internships and jobs may be available at the above established old-media organizations.

Area Info / Demographics

1. Keene is the economic hub of southwestern NH.
2. There are plenty of jobs here as well as entrepreneurial opportunities.
3. Big enough to have the amenities and comforts of a city,
4. Small enough to be bikeable/walkable. Keene is the most walkable place in NH according to walkable.org.
5. Population as of 2007 is nearly 23,000 + an estimated 10,000 more who come in during the daytime from the Monadnock region, VT, and MA during the day to work and shop (no sales tax!)
6. Keene is young – the median age is 36.7
7. Keene is mostly female – 52.76%
8. Keene’s residents are mostly single.
9. Keene folk are gay friendly. Here’s a useful thread on the Free Keene Forum about suggestions for meeting gays in the Keene area.
10. Cost-of-living in Keene is lower than the national average.
11. Broadband Internet is available via Cable or DSL.
12. Lots of free WiFi.
13. Variety of Living Options – You can choose a more “urban” lifestyle in downtown Keene, opt for the suburbs, or go a little further and you have rural living!
14. Keene is conveniently located in a valley. Snowfall and wind are limited compared to surrounding areas.
15. As it is located in a valley in Southern NH, Keene is not as cold as the northern portions of the state.
16. Great real estate opportunities. Beangroup.com is a useful site to find properties.
17. Keene has over 20 churches and one synagogue. (For the organized religious.)
18. Only 30% of Keene residents identify as religious. (For those who aren’t.)
19. Short drives to bigger metros: 60min drive to Nashua, 70min drive to Concord, 80min drive to Manchester, About two hours to Boston, About four hours to New York City, About 4.5 hours to Montréal
20. Cheshire Medical Center
21. Private trash pickup services!
22. The Keene area is a stunningly beautiful place to live. See for yourself via Google Street View.

Shopping / Food

1. Downtown Keene – Widest Main Street in America – easy parking!
2. Plenty of locally owned businesses of all varieties.
3. Regional retail chains like Aubuchon’s Hardware.
4. Lots of familiar national chains- Wal-Mart, Home Depot, Target, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Staples, Gamestop (2x), Sears Essentials, JCPenney, Bed Bath and Beyond, Michael’s Crafts, JoAnn Fabric, Blockbuster, Petco, Borders Books, & more.
5. Major Auto Dealers
6. Grocery stores include the awesome Price Chopper (24 hour!), Shaws, and Hannaford’s.
7. Blueberry Fields, for natural/organic enthusiasts. Plus, each major grocery store has a large selection of these foods as well.
8. Plenty of pizza, Chinese food, and a variety of other locally owned restaurants!
9. Fast Food – McDonald’s, Wendy’s, Burger King, Pizza Hut, Domino’s, Taco Bell, KFC, Subway & more.
10. Regional Food Chains – Friendly’s (2x), The 99, and more.
11. National Food Chains – Panera Bread (free WiFi), Chili’s, Applebee’s, Olive Garden, Longhorn Steakhouse, & more.
12. Lots of places to get coffee including locally owned coffee houses, Panera Bread, Starbucks (2x), and more!
13. Many local restaurants and chains are open Sundays.
14. The locally owned “Shipping Shack” is available for all your private mailbox needs.
15. 24-hour CVS and other drug stores including Walgreens and Rite Aid.
16. National and regional cell phone service providers are available in Keene.
17. National, regional, and local banks all in Keene. You will also find credit unions.

Recreation / Leisure / Education

1. Convenient bike/walking trails all throughout the city!
2. The most hiked mountain in the Western Hemisphere, Mount Monadnock, is conveniently located near Keene.
3. Multiple parks, with several sports options.
4. At least three beaches in the area including Otter Brook Park, Surry Mountain Lake, and Spofford Lake.
5. The region has many sports teams including the Swamp Bats and a full complement of youth, high school, college and recreational level teams.
6. Granite Gorge- skiing, snowboarding, tubing and more just 5 miles from downtown Keene! Want bigger mountains? Pat’s Peak, Crotchett, and Sunapee are a short trip away.
7. The Ashuelot River
8. Whether it’s fishing, boating, paddling or swimming, the region has more than 200 bodies of water of every size.
9. Workout Options: YMCA, a female-only gym, and a 24-hour men’s gym.
10. Keene Dillant-Hopkins Airport
11. The Keene Cinemas – Major Motion Pictures – Now with 3D!
12. The Colonial Theatre – Independent Films and Stage Productions
13. Opportunities to make music including the Apple Hill Chamber Players, Keene Pops Choir, and Monadnock Music.
14. Opportunities to listen to various types of music at local venues.
15. Plenty of bars/pubs with music, karaoke, and more bar attractions.
16. The Corner News smoke shop is right on Main St. and Phat Stuff smoke shop is just minutes away in nearby Winchester.
17. “For book lovers, Toadstool Bookshop is awesome! It is very large and well-stocked. Keene also has two used book stores, Eagle Books and Hannah’s Used Books.” – Menno, Early Mover
18. Lots of historical points of interest.
19. Cheshire Fair
20. Pumpkin Festival
21. Keene Music Festival
22. Art Walk (week-long event that puts artists’ works in storefronts)
23. Farmer’s Market that is open twice a week, during three seasons.
24. Shooting ranges in and around Keene and gun shops in the Monadnock region
25. Keene State College and Antioch New England Graduate School are in Keene with other colleges very close by like Franklin Pierce University.
26. There are a number of private schools and other educational opportunities.

Endorsements
Who has chosen Keene, and why? We’re proud to share these endorsements with you:

1. In an interview on Free Talk Live, Lew Rockwell, the founder of the Mises Institute and creator and editor of LewRockwell.com, called Keene “The northern capital of libertarianism” and suggested it was the “epicenter” of NH liberty activism. Lew identified himself as an “enthusiastic supporter” of the Free State Project, saying, “I definitely endorse the Free State Project”. About Keene, he said “[i] especially like what you guys are doing in Keene”, adding that activists “do amazing things here”.
2. “I should be in Keene, New Hampshire with the Free Staters.” – Magician and comedian Penn Jillette
3. “If I was going to move back to the East coast, I’d move to Keene.” – Marc Stevens, Author of Adventures in Legal Land and Host of the “No State Project”. on his 5/1/2010 show.
4. “I moved to Keene in 2004 and really enjoy living here. It has some big city conveniences without the big city size. It’s pretty, the weather is better than the immediately surrounding areas, the power stays on, it’s easy to get around, and we’ve made some really great friends here.” – Varrin Swearingen, President of the Free State Project
5. “I moved to the Keene area because residents were doing fun things and invited me. Now I live here and invite others who love questioning authority, pointing out injustice, committing random acts of charity, and creating public displays of a enthusiasm. Get out here and start having fun!” – Lauren Canario, Superactivist
6. “When selecting a place to base MotorhomeDiaries.com; Keene, New Hampshire – the emerging home of libertarian activism – was the only choice. I’m excited to be part of a community of principled libertarians who reject government violence in favor of a voluntary society.” – Jason Talley, Motorhome Diaries
7. “For a long time I’ve admired the work of the Free-Staters, especially those in Keene, who are leading the peaceful evolution toward a voluntary society. I want to use this as the model for my work with the activist network at Fr33Agents.net.” – Pete Eyre, Motorhome Diaries
8. “I moved to Keene because it’s a beautiful town. Lots of old buildings, lots of old trees, lots of shopping, all in a small town. Drive five minutes and you are in the country side. Like women? It’s a college town.” – Puke, Early Mover
9. “Keene rocks!” – Julia, Early Mover
10. Keene is absolutely the place to be for frustrated liberty activists (and just so you know, I’ve been at this since 1976) who aren’t run-for-office – oriented, but want to have some effect on the achievement of liberty. Just move NOW, and worry about logistics later–because no matter how soon you move, you’ll wish you had moved sooner! – Richard, Early Mover
11. I decided to move because from the first day that I was there, I felt like I would never be bored. There is a whole community of people from all walks of life that were kind enough to let me be a part of whats happening. – Andrew, Early Mover
12. “Big enough to support a wide variety of businesses yet small enough to maintain its neighborly charm. What more could you want from this little big town nestled in the beautiful valleys of New England?” – Paul Ott, Early Mover
13. “Folks in Keene are friendly and down-to-earth!” – Menno, Early Mover
14. “Keene is a great place to hang out with other liberty activists and have fun storming the castle.” – Russell Kanning, Publisher, NH Free Press
15. “Ground Zero for freedom…I fancy settling there when I move” – Thomas L. Knapp, Libertarian Blogger
16. “Most are wondering why on earth you haven’t moved yet. We’re wondering what you are waiting for. I can tell you that I am living a life beyond my wildest dreams. Though I have very little materially anymore, I am wealthy with a pleasure for life that I never knew existed.” – Kurt Hoffman, early mover and civil disobedience activist, written from jail in Letter 14.
17. More endorsements coming!

Unintentional Endorsements

1. “Free State Project holds extremist views and their participants have wreaked havoc in areas like Keene and Grafton. We’ve seen a steady stream of Free Staters taunting the Keene police and ending up in the Westmoreland jail, costing taxpayers dearly.” – Pam Martens, Local Busybody Statist
2. “Keene, New Hampshire, epicenter of the libertopian colony” – Justin Raimondo, Chroniclesmagazine.org
3. “Not sure how this ends — I’m hoping some town in New Hampshire will step up and say how much they want these people and maybe they’ll just leave. But there seem to be more each day, all here with the idea that they will turn Keene into their model town, so who knows.” – Mike Caulfield, Blue Hampshire Blogger
4. “Free Staters are becoming much more active — especially in Keene.” – Elwood P. Dowd, Blue Hampshire Blogger

Media Endorsements

1. “most [Free Staters] live in and around the city of Keene” – Chris Faraone, Journalist, Boston Phoenix. Chris was wrong about this statement, but the amount of activism around here certainly seems to have given him that impression!

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Several Websites SEIZED By U.S. Authorities

Huffington Post

Huffington Post

Together with several other sites, popular sports streaming and peer-to-peer website Rojadirecta has had its domain seized by U.S.
authorities.
A large notice appeared on Rojadirecta.org's website informing users, "This domain name has been seized by ICE-Homeland Security Investigations, Special Agent in Charge, New York Office, in accordance with a seizure warrant obtained by the United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York [...]" (See screenshot below)

The seizure of the site is: To read full article follow the link below:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/02/02/rojadirecta-org-seized_n_817458.html

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