Unofficial History of Drama in the Free State

[hellbilly]

Regardless whether he's trolling, is Dennis right or not?

He doesn't seem to be trolling.  I don't think he is technically correct as the vast majority of activists in NH do at least a very small amount of both types and more.  But yes, at least a couple dozen people have left NH and I know of 5 more that are planning on leaving very soon and the vast majority of these folks aren't primary political activists.  In fact, also, the people saying there is currently a low or slow point in activism in NH also tend to be the less political type as a ton of pro-liberty political activism is happening right now in NH.

What's with the exodus? Impatience?

[John Shaw]

What's with the exodus? Impatience?

That or the realization that you can't get rid of the mob by joining the mob.

[BonerJoe]

What's with the exodus? Impatience?

That or the realization that you can't get rid of the mob by joining the mob.

Winter blues and lack of a living wage income is what I'd say before that.

[anarchir]

What's with the exodus? Impatience?

That or the realization that you can't get rid of the mob by joining the mob.

Winter blues and lack of a living wage income is what I'd say before that.

This. The flakey/sketchy/homeless/drifter types were (as could have been predicted) the first people to get to NH, and they would likewise be the first to drift on. They would also be the ones with no long term game plan (family, kids, career, political career etc) and that could add into the "move-on" mentality. These are just my thoughts, its not really possible to know for sure, is it?

[sillyperson]

The flakey/sketchy/homeless/drifter types were (as could have been predicted) the first people to get to NH

Nice theory, but wrong.
I've been here longer than Sam (who is leaving) and just ~3 months less than the Kannings (who are leaving).

Meanwhile, one of the people who got elected as a State Rep was here ~6 months before me.

Lots of the people who moved early are IT professionals. Many (but not all) of them (us) have families.

[anarchir]

The flakey/sketchy/homeless/drifter types were (as could have been predicted) the first people to get to NH

Nice theory, but wrong.
I've been here longer than Sam (who is leaving) and just ~3 months less than the Kannings (who are leaving).

Meanwhile, one of the people who got elected as a State Rep was here ~6 months before me.

Lots of the people who moved early are IT professionals. Many (but not all) of them (us) have families.

I'm not saying all the early movers. But don't you think it is more likely that there will be certain types that will burn out quickly then move on to a new project? I suppose I might be wrong, I just feel that we are at the point in the project where a higher percentage of the movers will want to stay long term, since they took their time getting there act together and moving there.

[dalebert]

It seems like people are starting to buy houses in NH.  I think that's a good sign that we're filtering down to some of the less flaky types.  But we'll see.

[blackie]

It seems like people are starting to buy houses in NH. 

Those suckers won't be leaving anytime soon.

[One two three]

Regardless whether he's trolling, is Dennis right or not?

He doesn't seem to be trolling.  I don't think he is technically correct as the vast majority of activists in NH do at least a very small amount of both types and more.  But yes, at least a couple dozen people have left NH and I know of 5 more that are planning on leaving very soon and the vast majority of these folks aren't primary political activists.  In fact, also, the people saying there is currently a low or slow point in activism in NH also tend to be the less political type as a ton of pro-liberty political activism is happening right now in NH.

What's with the exodus? Impatience?

Some people stop caring about liberty as much as they used to.  Others were just experimenting with living in NH, like it was an adventure.  1 person told me it was about jobs but that is highly irrational as the economy is noticeably better in NH than most of the nation.  The person likely could have found a decent job in NH, but was unable to in Keene so they left the state completely and went back to where they used to live.

I think part of the problem is that Ian encourages people to move to Keene and sometimes with irrational expectations.  People seem to have more success when they move to Manchester where they have access to at least 10 times as many jobs. 

If Ian stopped promoting Keene so insistently and started being more realistic, I think more people would move or at least more of the movers would stick around longer.  Though, it is understandable that Ian promotes Keene so heavily as he bought a house here so he has invested a lot of money in the area.

[voodoo]

Not only is the Free State Project, incorporated – the corporation that has latched on to the Free State Project community – close to bankruptcy and forced to cancel its flagship Liberty Forum conference, but now it has come to light that FSP inc has not published meeting minutes or budgets for almost two years.

Why not? I emailed Irena Goddard, chairman of the FSP inc board of directors on December 26th, and have yet to receive an answer. FSP inc leaders may want to avoid more exposure on blogs, but I am still an FSP participant and as such expected at least the courtesy of a response. One anonymous insider claims the oversight is due to a broken website and a shortage of volunteers.

http://georgedonnelly.com/libertarian/no-fsp-inc-meeting-minutes-budgets-2-years

[One two three]

Not only is the Free State Project, incorporated – the corporation that has latched on to the Free State Project community – close to bankruptcy and forced to cancel its flagship Liberty Forum conference, but now it has come to light that FSP inc has not published meeting minutes or budgets for almost two years.

Why not? I emailed Irena Goddard, chairman of the FSP inc board of directors on December 26th, and have yet to receive an answer. FSP inc leaders may want to avoid more exposure on blogs, but I am still an FSP participant and as such expected at least the courtesy of a response. One anonymous insider claims the oversight is due to a broken website and a shortage of volunteers.

http://georgedonnelly.com/libertarian/no-fsp-inc-meeting-minutes-budgets-2-years

That is just George creating drama because that's what George does.  I give him credit though, he is good at creating drama out of nothing. 

[sillyperson]

Check the comments -- the FSP website had an upgrade, and Drupal ate the relevant pages ("Book nodes"). The data is there, just not on the website. A volunteer stepped forward to take on the rather large and cumbersome task of restoring said pages.

And yes, George is a drama queen. Highly relevant to this thread. Carry on...

[voodoo]

Sov. Curtis said "20 tickets were sold" on VORD.  Is that an accurate number?

[sillyperson]

Sov. Curtis said "20 tickets were sold" on VORD.  Is that an accurate number?

That sounds high... possibly 1/3 to 1/2 of those were ultra cut-rate tickets for the volunteer team itself

[hellbilly]

Something definitely seems off to me. NH looks like a beautiful place, worth living there regardless of hard winters.

All explanations so far seem plausible but I'm wondering if there's maybe too much infighting.. the sort of stuff documented in this thread. That drama as a constant would drive me off.