Beef tongue… YUM! The verdict is in: delicious. Amazing how one bite can time-travel you. Suddenly I’m in Pretoria, it’s a hot Christmas Day, and I’m mildly annoyed that I have to stop doing somersaults into the pool just to eat. Back then, lunch was cold cuts and mustard, Ma and Pa with their beers, the grownups laughing in the shade while the kids cannonballed and shrieked.
Beef tongue tastes like thick-cut roast beef — meaty, hearty, comforting — but not wild or gamey. If you’ve never had it, I suspect it’s not because it’s unworthy, but because smart chefs make sure they get it first.
Thanks to the incredible work at The Content Factory, I was included with real estate experts Jan Ryan, Broker Owner of RE/MAX Direct in San Diego County, CA, and Rebecca Hidalgo, CEO/Designated Broker at Integrity All Stars Realty in Chandler, AZ in The Spruce with this article, Real Estate Agents Agree: This One Home Feature Always Sells a Home Faster.
My quote:
Carla Gericke, Realtor at Porcupine Real Estate in New Hampshire, says natural light is of utmost importance to her clients, especially since winters in the area can feel long, dark, and dreary.
“When you walk into a sun-drenched kitchen or a living room with south-facing windows with a prospective buyer, you can practically watch their shoulders drop,” she says. “Light impacts mood, productivity, and even health, so homes that maximize daylight feel instantly more inviting and uplifting.”
Buyers are often looking for big windows, open layouts that don’t block the sun, and an orientation that captures morning and afternoon light.
So if you’ve been considering replacing your windows or removing that old, overgrown tree blocking the light from your home, now might be a good time to do it.
Fact-Check Carla Gericke’s Statements about New Hampshire from the Dr. Phil Show Transcript
The transcript appears to be from a discussion (likely featuring a guest from New Hampshire) speculating on what the state might look like as an independent country. I’ll break down the key factual claims one by one, verifying them against reliable data. Opinions (e.g., “prosperous” or “like a little Hong Kong”) are noted as such but not fact-checked, as they’re subjective. All data is current as of October 2025, drawing from U.S. Census estimates, World Population Review, and official state sources.
1. “New Hampshire… would be a prosperous Little Country geographically”
- Verdict: Subjective, but geographically accurate as a “little country.”
- New Hampshire is one of the smallest U.S. states by land area, ranking 46th out of 50 at approximately 8,953 square miles (23,187 km²) of land (total area including water: ~9,350 sq mi or 24,214 km²). This is comparable to small sovereign nations like Slovenia (~7,827 sq mi) or Kosovo (~4,203 sq mi), making it a “little country” in geographic terms.
- Prosperity is opinion-based but supported by NH’s high median household income (~$90,000 in 2023, 7th highest in the U.S.) and low poverty rate (~7%). As an independent nation, its economy (currently ~$86 billion GDP) could rank it among mid-tier small economies like Slovenia or Latvia.
2. “[We’d be] bigger than countries in Europe population wise”
- Verdict: True.
- New Hampshire’s population is estimated at ~1.41 million as of mid-2025.
- This exceeds the populations of at least 18 European countries, including:
- Iceland (~399,000)
- Luxembourg (~661,000)
- Malta (~535,000)
- Cyprus (~1.27 million)
- Latvia (~1.83 million, but close—NH edges it out in recent estimates)
- Smaller microstates like Liechtenstein (~39,000), San Marino (~34,000), Monaco (~39,000), Andorra (~80,000), and Vatican City (~800).
- For context, NH’s population is similar to that of Estonia (~1.37 million) or just below Lithuania (~2.86 million). It would rank around 150th globally by population, akin to small European nations.
3. “[We’d be] four times the size of Iceland”
- Verdict: Mostly true if referring to population; false if referring to land area.
- The phrasing is ambiguous (“size” after mentioning “population wise”), but context suggests population.
- Population: NH (~1.41 million) is about 3.5–3.6 times larger than Iceland’s (~399,000). Close enough to “four times” for casual speech.
- Land area: NH (~8,953 sq mi) is only ~23% the size of Iceland (~39,768 sq mi or 103,000 km²). Iceland is vastly larger geographically.
- Iceland is one of Europe’s sparsest countries (density: ~4 people/sq mi), so NH would indeed be “bigger” population-wise despite being much smaller in area.
4. “[We’d] be able to export energy [because] New Hampshire has a nuclear plant that no one talks about”
- Verdict: True on the nuclear plant; plausible (but hypothetical) on energy exports.
- New Hampshire has one operating nuclear power plant: Seabrook Station in Seabrook, NH (a 1,244-megawatt pressurized water reactor, operational since 1990). It generates ~55% of the state’s electricity and supplies carbon-free power across New England (e.g., to Massachusetts and Vermont utilities). It’s often under-discussed compared to larger plants, but it’s a key regional asset.
- As an independent country, NH could export energy via existing grid ties (e.g., to ISO New England). Currently, Seabrook saves New England consumers ~$500 million annually in emissions reductions and low-cost power. No other nuclear plants exist in NH, and it’s the state’s only major baseload power source beyond renewables/hydro.
5. “[We] have a deep sea port”
- Verdict: True.
- New Hampshire’s Port of Portsmouth (on the Piscataqua River) is the state’s only deep-water port, with a 45-foot (14-meter) channel depth suitable for large vessels (e.g., container ships up to 1,000+ feet). It handles ~4.8 million tons of cargo annually, including international freight, and supports the U.S. Navy’s Portsmouth Naval Shipyard.
- It’s strategically located ~40 miles north of Boston, serving as a gateway for northern New England trade. As a sovereign nation, it could function like a compact trade hub (e.g., similar to Estonia’s ports).
6. “[New Hampshire] could become like a little Hong Kong to the whole Eastern Seaboard where we’re more prosperous than we could be under [the U.S.]”
- Verdict: Speculative opinion, but plausible based on assets.
- This is hypothetical and not fact-checkable, but NH’s combo of a deep port, nuclear energy, educated workforce (highest high school graduation rate in the U.S.), and proximity to Boston/NYC (~1-hour drive) could position it as a trade/finance hub. Hong Kong (pop. ~7.5 million, area ~426 sq mi) thrives on its port and low taxes—NH already has no income/sales tax, which boosts prosperity. However, independence would introduce challenges like defense, currency, and trade barriers.
Overall Assessment
Most factual claims hold up well, with the Iceland “size” comparison being the only minor stretch (likely intentional hyperbole for population). The vision of NH as a prosperous mini-nation is optimistic but grounded in its real strengths: compact geography, energy independence potential, and trade access. If independent, it might resemble a scaled-down version of Singapore or Luxembourg—small, wealthy, and export-focused—rather than Hong Kong. For deeper dives, check U.S. Census data or NH state reports.
All recent media mentions occur in 2025, focusing on real estate trends, tax implications, and market insights where Carla Gericke, an agent at Porcupine Real Estate in New Hampshire, is quoted as an expert.
| Title | Source | Date | Link | Snippet |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| How Sentimental Sellers Can Help Buyers Win With Less | Realtor.com | July 30, 2025 | Link | “Storytelling is everything in real estate,” explains Carla Gericke, a real estate agent with Porcupine Real Estate in New Hampshire. “You’re not just …” |
| 90% of Gen Z Homeowners Admit To Underestimating the Cost of Homeownership | Realtor.com | July 1, 2025 | Link | For instance, Carla Gericke, a New Hampshire agent at Porcupine Real Estate, says that one of her Gen Z employees recently graduated from college and had to … |
| Americans Flock to These Small Locales To ‘Townsize’ This Summer | Realtor.com | July 19, 2025 | Link | … Carla Gericke, a popular New Hampshire agent at Porcupine Real Estate. “Bretton Woods is where liberty, luxury, and legacy meet. And that’s a rare find … |
| This “Golden Rule” of Touring Homes Is Disappearing | Apartment Therapy | June 23, 2025 | Link | … Carla Gericke, a New Hampshire agent at Porcupine Real Estate. “Some sellers worry about theft. Some want to sell it themselves, thinking they can help by … |
| How New York Homeowners Will Benefit From SALT Deduction Changes | Realtor.com | July 17, 2025 | Link | … real estate agent Carla Gericke. “For real estate investors, though? Not bad. If you’ve got property in those states, you’ll get to deduct more and keep … |
| How New Hampshire Homeowners Will Benefit From SALT Deduction Changes | Realtor.com | July 17, 2025 | Link | … Carla Gericke, a real estate agent at Porcupine Real Estate. Gericke sees this move as more of “windfall for high-net-worth buyers and well-connected … |
| Concord Makes List for Hottest Zip Codes in 2025 | Realtor.com | August 25, 2025 | Link | … Carla Gericke, a real estate agent at Porcupine Real Estate. “The kicker? Concord’s in the sweet spot: Just over an hour to Boston, the Seacoast, or the … |
| The Cities Young Families Are Flocking to in 2026, According to Experts | House Beautiful | July 31, 2025 | Link | … Carla Gericke, a New Hampshire agent at Porcupine Real Estate. “In other words: the window’s finally open,” she says. Local traditions like Pollyanna Glad … |
| How Massachusetts Homeowners Will Benefit From SALT Deduction Changes | Realtor.com | July 17, 2025 | Link | … Carla Gericke, a real estate agent at Porcupine Real Estate. “If you’ve got property in those states, you’ll get to deduct more and keep more after taxes … |
| How California Homeowners Will Benefit From SALT Deduction Changes | Realtor.com | July 17, 2025 | Link | … Carla Gericke, a real estate agent with Porcupine Real Estate. She adds, “If you’ve got property in those states, you’ll get to deduct more and keep more … |
| 32% of Homeowners in Austin, Texas Will Benefit From the New SALT Deduction Cap | LMT Online | July 20, 2025 | Link | … Carla Gericke, a real estate agent at Porcupine Real Estate. Though Texas wasn’t the hardest hit under the original cap, the sheer number of households with … |
| Le 9 città americane dove trasferirsi nel 2026 | Elle Decor (Italy) | August 23, 2025 | Link | … Carla Gericke, agente immobiliare del New Hampshire presso Porcupine Real Estate. “In altre parole: finalmente si è aperta una finestra”, dice. Tradizioni … |
Prominent leader of the Free State Project, Carla Gericke gives a talk, “The Good Girl’s Guide to Self-Ownership,” delivered at PorcFest, where she explores the concept of self-ownership by likening each individual to an independent country (1:50). She emphasizes that true liberty begins within oneself, asserting that the dreams of building a libertarian homeland in New Hampshire stem from individual self-ownership (2:05).
Gericke breaks down self-ownership into three core components:
- Body as Infrastructure (6:06): Your body is your homeland. She encourages mindful attention to what is allowed in (food, love) and establishing boundaries. Your immune system is your primary defense (27:37), and managing inflammation is crucial for health. She also highlights the importance of emergency protocols for personal well-being (29:19).
- Mind as Government (29:51): The mind functions as the government of your personal country, with legislative, executive, and judicial branches. She stresses defining your value system (30:09), developing effective decision-making processes (31:12), and being aware of who controls your mind, especially in an age of constant propaganda (33:01). She candidly discusses her personal journey of quitting alcohol to achieve a clearer mind (35:03).
- Soul as Culture/Identity (37:19): This aspect focuses on developing your personal culture, constitution, and national identity. Gericke advocates for embracing the desire to be “good” and striving for wholeness. Key tools for accountability include journaling (39:09), setting goals with quarterly reviews (40:19), monitoring health through blood tests (40:27), and building a strong community network (40:47).
She connects individual self-ownership to broader movements like the Free State Project’s efforts to achieve independence for New Hampshire, highlighting the importance of freedom, decentralization, and unity as guiding principles (42:47). Gericke concludes by reiterating that fostering individual self-determination leads to a more voluntary world where communities can overcome challenges like resource scarcity and instability by banding together as self-owned humans (44:50).
Despite what the haters say, I am a free speech absolutist. You are free to say whatever you want. I am free not to associate with you. That’s how it works.
I just submitted a nomination of the LPNH for the Nackey Loeb First Amendment Award. Herewith:
I am writing to nominate the Libertarian Party of New Hampshire (LPNH) for the 2025 Nackey S. Loeb First Amendment Award, not in spite of their provocations–but because of them.
With their slogan, “Become Insufferable,” LPNH embodies the oldest and most uncomfortable truth of free speech: it isn’t meant to protect what’s popular, polite, or palatable. It’s there for the speech that makes your stomach churn. The kind that earns gasps, not claps. The kind that, historically, gets banned–right before everything else does, too.
Their social media posts–mostly lowbrow, often crass, frequently controversial, and sometimes downright offensive–force an urgent question into the public square: Do we still believe in free speech when it’s speech we abhor?
This is the very principle the ACLU defended in 1977, when they backed the National Socialist Party’s right to march through Skokie, Illinois. A Jewish lawyer, David Goldberger, argued that denying speech to the worst among us imperils speech for the rest of us. The Supreme Court agreed.
Like Skokie, the LPNH case is not about agreement or taste. It’s about whether the First Amendment applies equally to the unpopular, the indecent, the mad. Their July 2025 tweet–calling Martin Luther King a communist and mocking his legacy–was widely condemned, as was their 2024 post suggesting violence against Kamala Harris (later taken down). These are abhorrent messages to many, including to me. But this nomination isn’t about whether I like what they said. It’s about whether they had the right to say it.
LPNH insists they do–and they haven’t backed down. Even under pressure from national leadership, tech platform censorship, FBI inquiries, and widespread public backlash, they’ve doubled down on their core message: free speech must include the offensive, or it means nothing at all.
Legal precedent is on their side. Brandenburg v. Ohio (1969) clarified that even incendiary speech is protected unless it is both intended and likely to incite imminent lawless action. LPNH’s posts–though tasteless and provocative–have not crossed that legal threshold. What they have done is spark nationwide debate about the boundaries of protected speech in the digital age, about the line between rhetoric and violence, and about the role of political satire, trolling, and provocation in a polarized country.
Like Nackey Scripps Loeb herself, the LPNH uses its platform to challenge sacred cows and poke the establishment in the eye. You don’t have to agree with them–in fact, it’s better if you don’t. That’s the test. That’s the point.
I urge the committee to consider this nomination not as an endorsement of content, but as a defense of principle. In a world increasingly hostile to dissent, the LPNH’s unapologetic use of their First Amendment rights keeps the flame of free speech burning–messy, chaotic, and vital.
With respect and a deep belief in the power of defending the right to speak one’s mind, so that we may know which fools not to suffer gladly.
Just Because You Can Say It Doesn’t Mean You Should
Let me be very clear: I nominated the Libertarian Party of New Hampshire for a First Amendment award because the principle of free speech matters, not because I like what they’re saying. I don’t. Most days, I think they’re trolling themselves into madness.
Which is why we need to talk about something else entirely: just because you can say something doesn’t mean you should.
In the analogy I used—LPNH playing the part of the National Socialist Party in Skokie—I am, metaphorically, the Jewish lawyer defending their right to march through the neighborhood.
But let’s be honest: no sane person wakes up aspiring to be the Nazis in that story. So why are you—yes, you with the spicy meme account—cosplaying as the villain? Why are you trying to be hated?
Here’s the uncomfortable truth: speech isn’t neutral. It isn’t inert. Your thoughts become your words, your words become your deeds, and your deeds become your life. The stories you tell shape the world you live in. So if the vibe you’re putting out is cruelty masked as liberty, don’t be surprised when the only thing you attract is attention—and not the kind that builds anything worth saving.
Let’s ask the harder question: Why are you saying what you’re saying?
Is it truth-seeking or trauma-dumping?
Is it ego or principle?
Is it strategy or dopamine addiction?
If you contradict yourself from day to day, it’s not free speech. It’s noise. If you don’t know the why behind your message, you’re not building liberty. You’re building a brittle brand.
This was never about “mean tweets.” That phrase was a bullshit from the start—an excuse to pretend your behavior isn’t in question. Words shape reality. They turn you into what you are. Your words are the reason you are so gross.
Here’s the litmus test: Are your words serving Love or Hate?
And don’t get it twisted. Love is not weakness. Love is not censorship. Love is not holding hands and singing Kumbaya while tyrants stomp on your neck. Love is clarity. Love is truth-telling with spine. Love is fierce, and it defends the sacred. It doesn’t humiliate for retweets. It doesn’t mock the dead. It doesn’t bait its community for clout.
Liberty is not license. Free speech is not a dare to be the most grotesque. You don’t win moral authority by being louder, meaner, or “more based.” You win by being principled, consistent, and decent.
Life has taught me this much: what you put into the world is what you attract. If you lead with poison, don’t cry when all you find are snakes. If you sow division, don’t expect a harvest of community. If you weaponize words, don’t be shocked when people stop listening—or start fighting back.
In this polarized mess of a world, we don’t need more edge-lords with God complexes. We need courageous individuals who can hold two truths at once:
- You have the right to speak, even when it offends.
- You also have a responsibility to mean something when you do.
Choose wisely. You’re not just speaking into the void. You’re speaking into the future. A future your words create. If you hate, hate will follow. If you love, love will arise. Choose love.
I said 2012, because sometimes I am moving so fast, I’m living in the past!
Check out the property I’m talking about, and HMU if you want to buy it! 🙂
