Thank you to everyone who attended the 8th Annual Porcupine Day at the Millyard Museum in Manchester. Watch this video to get the real insights into these CERTIFIED EXTREMISTS!!! lol
This week, Manch Talk is in the new studio and bugs are still being sorted. We cover the moves towards more secretive government and censorship, with Carla uncovering some startling revelations from Grok on X, including “#FreeAssange” being banned.
I will upload the Grok screen grabs here later.
I 
NH! In a “Only in the Free State” moment, I found my lost glove! After a month! On a trail at least 5 miles from my house! I’d been so bummed about losing one half of my favorite outdoor leather gloves back around Xmas. Today, there it was, sitting on a stick in the snow when I parked. How lucky is that?!?!
UPDATE:
Oh FFS! I forgot I THREW THE OTHER ONE AWAY because, remember how I said I was going to work on not clinging to things that do not serve me? Well, I actually went through the whole mental conversation of: “Com’on, what plausible use is there for one half of your favorite pair of gloves? You know you have to throw it away. You can do it.”
Now I don’t know what today’s lesson is all about… No wait! I do! The right hand giveth while the left hand taketh away. Or sumthang.
Poop.
HB 1002 is a REALLY bad bill. I don’t understand how it made it out of committee with an OTP–colluders!
The Union Leader op-ed desk and stalwart reporter Mark Hayward agree with me, and Right-to-Know NH, when we say this bill will destroy what’s left of the media in New Hampshire.
Think you don’t know what your government is up to? Imagine if they can drag their feet for 9 hours and then start charging you a service fee to provide Constitutionally required information? As I often say, incentives matter, and these incentives are aligned with a lack of transparency, places an unnecessary burden on citizens, and is not needed.
Here is a document prepared by RTKNH’s president Katherine Kokko. She and I will be distributing them at the statehouse this morning before the session starts.
Heading to the NH state house this morning to stave off one of the worst bills I've seen in a while (HB 1002).
— Carla Gericke, Live Free And Thrive! (@CarlaGericke) February 1, 2024
Activists & independent media like me use RTK requests to figure out what's happening & keep government accountable.
Now Municipalities want to charge a service fee… https://t.co/b55i97OvMu pic.twitter.com/W1DpdljyeK
WATCH THE VIDEO BELOW ABOUT THE MOST INSIDIOUS NH HOUSE BILL BEING HEARD TOMORROW!!!
They’re creating a tax for open record requests. We HAVE TO KILL HB 1002!!!
Here’s the documents created by Right-to-Know NH regarding HB 1002. HUGE SHOUT OUT to Katherine Kokko of Right-to-Know NH for the incredible work she did on this issue, including the Q&A below. Right-to-Know NH is a nonpartisan group working together to keep NH government open, transparent, and ACCOUNTABLE to the people.
HB1002: Frequently Asked Questions
How does HB1002 impact the public’s Right to Know?
HB1002 imposes labor, retrieval, and redaction costs on requestors under RSA Chapter 91-A (NH’s “Right to Know” Law). HB1002 constrains a citizens’ right to know to what can be learned in 10 hours or less in a 30-day period, while charging for additional details within that time period.
A ten hour limit on requests sounds reasonable on paper. Why is this a problem?
The limit hampers the public’s ability to understand and scrutinize complex government operations thoroughly, setting conditions for opacity in government. HB1002 targets, and discourages members of the public from performing the public service of assuring transparency in government, jeopardizing public access and government transparency in New Hampshire. There are other ways to address the problem of “burdensome requests” as presented to the House (See inside).
What else is wrong with HB1002?
By defining the reasonableness of a request as a time limit, HB1002 contravenes the intent of the RTK Law repeatedly affirmed by the courts – to define reasonableness of a request in a manner that provides the greatest information, consistent with statutory and constitutional objectives.
Furthermore, high labor estimates for responding to a request are likely to be issued due to issues like poor record retention practices or the use of overzealous redactions. Those are the responsibility of the public body, not the fault of the requestor.
Why is it important for the public to have unfettered access to public information under NH’s Right to Know law?
NH’s law is entirely and uniquely reliant on private action by individuals for enforcement, giving the public a statutory role in ensuring transparency in NH. There is no oversight body to ensure that NH’s Right-to-Know law is enforced.
Any investigation, even by the RTK Ombudsman, must be instigated by private action. HB1002 erects financial barriers to the public and perversely incentivizes public bodies to increase their estimated labor in responding to RTK requests.
This bill appears to have lot of support from local communities, public bodies and their lobbyists. Who is opposing this bill?
Because this bill would severely harm government accountability and transparency in New Hampshire, it is opposed by a broad Coalition of stakeholders, including the Right-to-Know NH, the ACLU-NH, the New England First Amendment Coalition, the N.H. Press Association, the N.H. Union Leader, the N.H. Bulletin and Americans for Prosperity.
WHY VOTE NO
ON HB1002?
It sounds like “burdensome requests” are a big problem for public bodies/communities? Does RTKNH agree?
The bill’s sponsor Katelyn Kuttab (R-Windham), the NH Municipal Association and Right to Know NH have all confirmed that the large, problematic requests at issue are infrequent. In testimony, examples of “burdensome requests” were anecdotal and not placed in context. Most labor-intensive RTK requests come from commercial entities who are likely willing to pay.
By contrast, the average citizen will likely abandon their RTK request when faced with potential fees for a public interest inquiry, serving no public good. The impact on the average citizen request will be far more profound than the impact on burdensome commercial requests.
If this bill is NOT passed, how will public bodies/communities deal with these “burdensome requests”?
HB1002 addresses a perceived issue that is already addressed by the Right to Know law and existing State and Federal case law. HB1002 disincentivizes public bodies from understanding the existing parameters of the RTK law and the court’s definitions of “reasonableness”… at the public’s expense.
Finally, public bodies always have the option of communicating with the requestor to try and clarify the scope of the request. Many do not do this and choose a legalistic approach instead.
Are there other ways to address these “burdensome requests?”
Yes. Public bodies, including elected officials, should be trained on Right to Know. There is no training requirement. Relying on legal counsel or trying to base decisions on in-house interpretations – instead of training public employees on the front lines – exacerbates issues. When a community spends an inordinate amount of time on Right to Know requests, it is often due to this lack of training and/or reliance on overly legalistic responses.
• What else could be done to assist public bodies?
Multiple stakeholders have asked the AG’s Office to update its 2015 Memorandum on NH’s Right to Know Law so that public bodies can appropriately apply the many precedent-setting decisions made since 2015. The AG’s Office has not done so (claiming that it is in process) while failing to provide a timeline for completion. Meanwhile, it has endorsed HB1002 and specifically the proposed fee structure. This is an unacceptable abdication of its own role in assuring the integrity of the application of the Right-to-Know law.
• The House Judiciary Committee voted this bill OTPA. Why should I disagree with their recommendation?
With only 2 business days between the hearing and Executive Session, the House Judiciary Committee voted HB1002 OTPA 12-8 along evenly split party lines (6D/6R to 4D/4R), without:
(i) Investigating examples, or the origin and root causes of, burdensome requests that are being cited anecdotally to justify this bill
(ii) Considering more targeted proposals to limit excessive requests.
(iii) Investigating the role that RTK training and public guidance (including from the NH Attorney General’s office) could have in resolving this issue.
• How will this bill impact the “average” RTK request?
HB1002 reinforces the use of problematic practices like unnecessary redactions, use of outside contracted support staff and “data dumps” of large volumes of unnecessary documents by allowing billing for such labor. It will also have a “chilling effect” on anything but the most simple request, discouraging the public from researching and understanding issues of interest because they are “too complicated” to warrant paying for the public interest.
Developed and Funded by Committed NH Citizen-Advocates through Right-to-Know NH
Page 2
I have been remiss in my #freedomnomnom postings, as some friends recently reminded me!
This isn’t because I’m not cooking, but rather, because I am in the process of kicking my real estate career into gear, and frankly, I’m a bit overwhelmed.
Add winter to the mix, starting the year with the cooties, and you’ve got a recipe for potential backsliding…
It’s true, I did, for a hot second, stop doing some of the good habits I’ve adopted, and then I remembered what I’ve learned over the past few years, which is: leverage your good base habits, NO BACKSLIDING!
BUILD! BUILD ON YOUR BASES!
Good habits are actions so deeply ingrained, they make your life better automatically.
Which means, knowing and reminding yourself you MUST TAKE TIME to:
- Get into Nature daily
- Hydrate
- Nourish with whole foods cooked from scratch (I regard this as “medicine”, which is why I cook)
- Meditate/journal/reflect
- Exercise & lift heavy things
- Play!
A growth mindset is vital to success in life. But perfectionists–or maybe it’s just me?–struggle when they’re not great at something from the onset.
But here’s the reality: you can’t get better if you don’t try.
Every small failure is a step on the path of greater achievements, but you’ve got to keep trucking!
I only learned to cook in my late 20s. As a high school student, I actually got banned from my Home Ec class for burning my brownies so badly the class had to be evacuated.
I decided cooking was not a skill a future professional like me needed to know. I took pride in only being able to subsist on Marmite toast and popcorn during law school. (And two packs a day.)
Both my parents were decent cooks, but I learned to cook from a Dotcom era “chef box” delivered twice a week to my doorstep in San Francisco.
“Flaky halibut with lemon sauce and crisp asparagus.” The magic was in the box: Self-contained meals with easy instructions on the proper cooking techniques.
Someone recently told me most 20-somethings don’t know how to cook.
Is this true?
If YOU don’t know how to cook, do you want to learn to make food like this?
Are there steps you can start to take so long? Have you checked out my “Freedomnomnom” Playlist on YouTube?
Much like I resisted learning to cook when I was younger, I’ve resisted focusing on my cooking beyond trying to inspire you through my own actions.
But if there’s interest and demand for more, let me know in the comments and maybe, maaaaybe we can get a cooking class… cooking?!?!
I will be speaking at Anarchapulco again! Last time I went, was 2020, right before Covidmania set in.
I will be speaking on intentional communities, of which the Free State of New Hampshire is the most audacious and successful example. Here’s my bio for 2024:
Attorney Carla Gericke has spent 15+ years building a libertarian homeland in the Free State of New Hampshire, consistently ranked the #1 freest state. Carla is an outspoken advocate of the principles of liberty and self-ownership, understanding we lead by example by being awesome. After being arrested and facing 7-years in federal prison, Carla fought back, and in 2014 won a landmark First Amendment lawsuit affirming the right to film police officers in public and removing their claims of qualified immunity. This case positively affects the rights of 13 million residents of the First Circuit. Carla is the author of “The Ecstatic Pessimist: Stories of Hope (Mostly)” and was recently featured in a collection of autobiographies of prominent libertarians, “LIBERTARIAN AUTOBIOGRAPHIES: Moving Towards Freedom in Today’s World”. She has appeared in mainstream outlets like The Economist, Newsweek, The New Yorker, Fox, CNN, BBC, and was recently featured in the Emmy-nominated NBC docuseries, LIFE, LIBERTY AND THE PURSUIT OF NEW HAMPSHIRE. Carla’s life motto is: Live free and thrive! Learn more: CarlaGericke.com.
Below is my Main Stage talk from 2020… still one of my favorite talks ever!
Tammy and Carla discuss New Hampshire’s FITN Primary results, where Trump trounced Never Nikki and Biden got a bunch of write-ins, but man, lame-oh, lame-oh. Also, we discuss the strangeness around Keith Murphy’s assault case, for which he was found NOT GUILTY last week.
Even as someone who despises the federal government enough that I think we can do better on our own, I’ve learned to appreciate the First in the Nation Primary in NH… It’s been described as the “Superbowl of politics,” but this time round, it’s just not what it used to be…
With Grandpa too senile and The Party too demented to bother to put Biden on the ballot, the circus element from the left is somewhat lacking.
#sad
— Victoria Sullivan (@VictoriaSul21) January 23, 2024
He’s not that into you. pic.twitter.com/rTnrL4Z0f6
Add to that, DeSantis and Vivek dropping out, and the circus on the right is also hamstrung.
If FITN is our Bread & Circuses, this Primary reflects more bread lines, less ringmasters.
That said, there are always opportunities to be seized.
FSP founder Jason Sorens, our new executive director and Maine Senator Eric Brakey, and I did a walk-and-talk segment with Lawrence Jones from Fox & Friends in downtown Manchester yesterday.
By happenstance, Andrew Sylvia of Manchester Ink Link was on a corner and snapped a pic of the crew following me to Hanover Street.
.@CarlaGericke has a media entourage near Amherst and Elm #NHPolitics pic.twitter.com/rjnd3uaiBd
— andrewsylvia (@andrewsylvia) January 22, 2024
The 3-minute segment airs today and is a profound gift to spread the message of the Free State Project to a massive new audience. 
After the shoot, we stopped for lunch at the DoubleTree, where in years past, Radio Row was buzzing, and TV news trucks would be lined up in front of the hotel.
On Sunday, Eric and I did sit down with Granite Grok to discuss our views on the upcoming Primary and the future of liberty in New Hampshire (see OP pic of Eric, who got pulled into a second interview with students from Franklin Pierce School of Law), but compared to the past, on Monday, Radio Row was bleak and there were no news trucks.
But, Andrew Yang showed up (he’s behind Jason in the photo), then Lily Tang Williams popped in to say hello, and I had a good conversation with Federation of Republican Women stalwart, Augusta Petrone, whose fantastic “pinkie up” High Teas at her beautiful mansion are always worth attending.
While I was talking to Augusta, I had my parking ticket in my hand but somehow lost it on the way to the car.
I was unnecessarily angry at myself about this, mad because my “pre-planning” (having the tix out) had backfired and now I’d have to pay a gazillion bucks for a quick lunch stop.
Me to parking attendant: “I lost my fucking ticket. But if it helps, I parked at 12:08.” He never said a word or acknowledged my statement but I only paid $8 not $22. Grateful!
Then I stopped in at the Quill and met with comedian and podcaster Andrew Heaton. Eric and Joshua Holmes sat down for an interview and I headed home to help clients who are in the market for a house.
Here’s Heaton and co at a podcast recording over the weekend.
Right now in New Hampshire —@JustinRYoung, @MightyHeaton, and @JenBriney up for the NH Primary, recording a live podcast episode of “We’re Not Wrong” at @ToShareBrewing in Manchester, NH. pic.twitter.com/43zvuFwmkP
— The Free State ? (@FreeStateNH) January 21, 2024
As I drove home, I thought how thankful I am that our movement has arrived.
That Free Staters are now an embedded part of NH’s political landscape. That what we have accomplished, and will accomplish, is undeniable.
That the community we’re building is growing.That our human action is making the Live Free or Die state more better. 
Our time has come.
Let’s not squander it on a strategy of being assholes. Let’s leverage it to become the people other people want to be like!
Let’s emulate our principles in a way that ATTRACTS not repels. Marcus Aurelius said: “Look within. Within is the fountain of good, and it will ever bubble up, if you will ever dig.”
Let’s live free… and thrive!
