Benson in Grafton, August 11, 2004 6-8pm
From: "Mike Lorrey"
Date: Tue Aug 10, 2004 9:22 am
Subject: FTLD Update
Hey all you FTLD'ers,
Partly to keep the list active, partly to update:
We have definitely won the Battle of Grafton. John Babiarz says that
he gets apologies all the time from other residents now, and that
while a few, like Neal "Nobody is Gonna Shove Freedom Down My Throat"
Kenny, are trying to get a growth control/zoning ordinance on the
ballot, it is widely expected to be a loser. If we lay low until this
happens, we'll have a local mandate to move in.
We were also able, via our NHPR appearances on The Exchange, to help
win positive exposure across the state for the FTP and the FSP in
general. Liberal friends of mine said we came across as very
reasonable people, and the fact that the 'save grafton' folks have
only lived in town for a month blew a major hole in their
credibility.
John Babiarz is having a fundraiser barbecue tomorrow (wed) evening,
6-8pm, for Governor Benson, who will be present, at John's home in
Grafton. Cover charge is $25 a head, and if you want to attend, call
John & Rosalie at 523-8315. Security has already been arranged with
the town Chief of Police, so we won't have to worry about protesters.
Governor Benson has been excellent with our Killington project,
meeting with the town manager and selectmen at the state house a few
weeks ago and having a press conference on Killington secession in
the governors office. Lets show the governor we appreciate his
support, eh?
23 Comments:
Hey Mike! I may have only lived in Grafton for 4 months but I have lived in NH for 4 years. I don't see how I am discredited just because I haven't lived here my whole life. Have you talked to ALL Grafton residents? I have spoke with people at the museum, library and country store and they do NOT all agree with you and Babiarz. Hey Curtis, is Mike right? I am sure you know ALL the residents in Grafton. Is Mike Lorrey discredited because he is actually (gasp) from MA (aka Masshole as I hear locals say)? What next Mike? Rebecca
2:51 PM
18:50:36 mike2050us Mike Lorrey, how are things going in New Hampshire? I heard you on NPR.
18:51:26 Randolfe1 What was Mike Lorrey on NPR for?
18:51:52 MikeLorrey Oh, things are going great
18:52:13 MikeLorrey I was on NPR and NHPR regarding the offshoot Free Town Project
18:52:43 MikeLorrey we did a good job in the media and most of the residents of Grafton are either on our side or indifferent to us now
18:52:47 Randolfe1 Is that part of the Libertarian idea to take over the state?
18:53:07 MikeLorrey some FSP members wanted to try the experiment with a low population town in NH
18:53:40 MikeLorrey but it was primarily an effort to obtain very affordable land for residential development for FSP members
18:54:25 MikeLorrey I met with Governor Benson recently regarding Killington VT seceding to NH
18:54:48 MikeLorrey Killingtons legislation in the NH House has 15 co-sponsors already
18:55:22 Randolfe1 Zoning restrictions are very annoying. However, I wonder if political power won't see a "free city" as a black hole--just like nature supposedly abhors a vacumn.
18:55:32 MikeLorrey As for Grafton, we're going to lay low until Town Meeting. THe dems are going to try to pass a zoning ordinance in Grafton
18:55:38 MikeLorrey they are NOT going to win
18:55:50 MikeLorrey so once that happens, we're going to go full bore ahead
18:56:23 MikeLorrey nah, there are a half dozen towns without zoning already in NH
18:57:06 MikeLorrey so things are happening, moving forward, etc
18:57:30 mike2050us That's great!
18:57:34 Randolfe1 People and politiciaqns like to meddle in other people's business. The larger the town, the more people who want to meddle in your affairs.
18:57:50 MikeLorrey It is getting more and more exciting to see more libertarians move into the state
18:58:03 kzzch how many more to go, Mike?
18:58:47 MikeLorrey Well, nobody is obligated to move yet, but nearly a hundred have already. Membership is around 6,000, we've gote 14,000 more to go, so y'all go and sign up!!!!
18:59:35 John_Ventureville Mike, how do you respond to the naysayers who claim this libertarian community will self-destruct from in-fighting, or by coming into conflict with various government organizations?
18:59:48 MikeLorrey We're getting county LP affiliates organized, and FSP local groups are active in half the state already
19:00:33 MikeLorrey Well, I say that we've already weathered the storm with a few individuals who have saboteur personalities
19:00:41 MikeLorrey and we are still going strong
19:01:03 John_Ventureville that is a good sign
19:01:08 MikeLorrey Chuck Geshlider and his girlfriend tried to sabotage things here,
19:01:13 John_Ventureville how?
19:01:22 MikeLorrey but we just shunned them and they moved out of state
19:01:29 kzzch Was that the FTP fiasco?
19:01:42 Randolfe1 Randolfe1 (~Randolfe@[death to spam].ool-44c1e97a.dyn.optonline.net) has quit IRC [Read error: Connection reset by peer]
19:01:55 MikeLorrey The FTP wasn't a fiasco, but the problem with that was a fellow named Zack Bass
19:02:37 MikeLorrey Chuck tried to bankrupt us with a fanciful project to attract the Red Sox to NH as a financial strategy to end the Curse of the Bambino
19:03:03 kzzch o_O
19:03:26 John_Ventureville Mike, I wish you good luck in this fascinating venture
19:03:41 MikeLorrey The problem with Zack was that he writes his stuff online aimed solely at extreme libertarians
19:04:10 MikeLorrey without recognition that he has non-libertarians reading him too and using his extreme statements to smear us all
19:06:07 MikeLorrey Thanks. I want to encourage transhumanists to join the FSP. IMHO it is the best long term solution to protecting our future against luddism
1:09 PM
Tony,why is the owner of this site YOUR enemy? Why are you so angry? All this site does is point out what the FSP/FTP say, and since we live here we are VERY interested. Watch out everyone, if you say something that Tony Tone doesn't like he will call you a statist and possibly threaten your life. Tony can NOT take jokes. Did you really think ALL of Grafton and ALL of NH would agree with you? Just because I don't want Tony Stelik's version of freedom and liberty, doesn't mean I hate freedom and liberty! Don't hate the player, hate the game. sheesh! I don't want zoning unless everyone here can be grandfathered in. I actually don't want any zoning except Mr.Zack Bass/Larry Pendarvis said that if we don't vote for zoning, he thinks we just invited all of the FSP/FTP. I think Unity NH just passed something to protect themselves from some land developer who just came to town and wants to build a new senior community. I am not sure what they will do..
1:31 PM
I am pretty sure Neil Kenny meant that he didn't want the FTP's version of freedom, come on now!
1:35 PM
>>If you want to know how many people support zoning, roughly, look at how many voted for Catherine in the last election. It should not be too hard to project from there.
The FTP may have given Catherine a bunch more supporters. A lot has changed since the last election.
2:24 PM
I think the Declaration of Independence is a bunch of crap written by WHITE RACISTS who were also SEXISTS. THey called Native AMericans savages. I don't care how fancy their words are. FTP's version of freedom is whatever suits each FTP member: FOr Mike LOrrey it is cloning and stem cell research, maybe for Zack it is polygamy,FOr COndon it is being allowed to have whatever type of front door he wants, For Hull maybe it is to be allowed to paint your home whatever you choose. I agree with many Libertarians, just not the hard core MILITANT Big L ones. I will not play your semantics game. sorry!
2:19 PM
we both know you will never see things my way and vice versa..by big L I meant the zack/chuckie types..
3:09 PM
I love this country. I love independence and liberty, just not a racist/sexist versions of independence and liberty. LIBERTY for ALL ( Not just rich white families). Yeah, now you are getting it! Don't hate the player, hate the game. So now you don't have to use terms like "enemy" and "the battle of Grafton". We are probably similar, but since it is Grafton that is being targeted, you can't see my view. THat is OK. We can agree to disagree. No reason to get nasty, right? That is the Chuck/Zack way.
3:18 PM
Happy Days!
A REAL Republican is running AGAINST Benson!!!!!
http://www.tarbell2004.com/
Finally!
It took some guts, but now Republicans have someone to vote for!
If you don't want John Lynch, and you don't want Benson, how about Charles Tarbell??
4:52 PM
mike lorrey, good luck with your plan to "lay low". HAHAHA!
12:07 PM
There is an article about Benson and his Porcupine bbq in the viewpoints section of the Monitor. It points out what a scam artist liar Benson is, and has a great photo of Benson hugging his dearest porc friends like Philips and Condon and others with name tags on..
12:21 PM
Benson is a crooked liar. Not all people with money are great. I will put up some links for you in a minute..
5:25 PM
CRAIG BENSON HASN'T FOUGHT THE STATUS QUO, HE'S MADE THINGS WORSE FOR NH
FAMILIES
MANCHESTER - Despite the claims his new advertising campaign, Craig
Benson hasn't fought the status quo in Concord , he's made it worse.
"Craig Benson hasn't fought the status quo, he's made things worse for
New Hampshire families. Craig Benson has put himself and his friends
before the people of New Hampshire , and as a result we've seen dramatic
increases in health care costs for small businesses, cuts to state aid
to education, fiscal mismanagement, and constant ethics scandals," said
Pamela Walsh, communications director for the campaign of John Lynch.
See Attached Ad Watch for more information.
# # #
Ad Watch - The Truth Behind Benson's Claims
Claim 1: "He fights the status quo for us"
Craig Benson hasn't fought the status quo in Concord, he's made it worse
by putting himself and his friends before the people of New Hampshire .
Putting Himself and His Friends Before the People of New Hampshire :
Craig Benson:
Awarded members of his staff nearly $100,000 in state-funded bonuses.
(7/10/04, Concord Monitor, "Governor's Staff banks bonuses") Hired a
$5,000 a month part-time image consultant for himself during a statewide
hiring freeze. (5/6/04, Union Leader, "Heath is Benson's Media Adviser")
Gave a $150,000 salary - the highest salary in state government - to his
former Cabletron employee Bob Anderson, who was unqualified for the job
of chief information officer. ( 5/19/03 , NH Public Radio "Governor Pays
Top Dollar for CIO; 2/9/04 , Union Leader, "High Tech Guru Quits) Used
State Police money to buy a nearly $40,000 SUV, complete with a
rear-seat entertainment package. ( Department of Safety) Benson aides
Linda Pepin and Joe D'Alessandro colluded to illegally collect $187,000
in state health insurance fees. (New Hampshire Department of Insurance,
New Hampshire Department of Justice) Used $135,000 in federal funds
meant to help workers on television and newspaper ads promoting Benson.
( 2/12/04 , Union Leader, "Benson Ads Generate Static") Ethical
Controversies: In what a Republican political adviser called, "the
biggest ethics scandal in the history of New Hampshire," both the
Attorney General and the Department of Insurance concluded that two of
Benson's aides, both former Cabletron employees, colluded to improperly
collect $187,000 in illegal health insurance commissions from the state;
Benson's first health and human services commissioner was forced to
resign after it was revealed that he was leading a political action
group that lobbied state government and that he planned to start a
health insurance company; Benson's environmental commissioner has been
accused of transferring state employees for political purposes; and
Benson himself has been caught breaking the state's wetlands laws. (
11/29/03 Concord Monitor; 9/11/03 Concord Monitor; 6/28/03 The Union
Leader)
Benson Unable to Get Along with the Republican Legislature:
The Nashua Telegraph reported that "Gov. Craig Benson was unhappy to
learn last spring that a member of his staff was getting a reputation
for nursing close relations with state legislators." ( July 18, 2004 ,
Nashua Telegraph, "Business as Usual") Republican lawmakers have called
Benson a "dictator," "reckless" and an "anarchist." ( 5/4/04 The Union
Leader) Keeping Information from the Public:
Craig Benson has refused to release basic information about the
so-called "volunteers" working in his office, including Angela Blaisdell
who served as his homeland security liaison. ( 6/12/03 , Concord
Monitor) As a candidate, Benson failed to complete the required
financial disclosure form, listing his occupation only as "business man"
and leaving blank the lines that asked for information on his business
associations and investments worth more than $10,000. As Governor,
Benson broke his promise to put his assets in a blind trust; broke his
promise to fully disclose his investments and potential conflicts of
interest; and broke his promise not to be actively involved in managing
his investments. ( 12/24/02 , Union Leader; 12/30/02 , Associated Press
; 1/7/03 , Concord Monitor; 1/10/03 , Associated Press ) Craig Benson
failed to disclose his $16 million investment in the state-regulated
Golf Club of New Hampshire, a failure the Attorney General's office is
now investigating. ( 6/25/03 , Associated Press )
Claim 2: "He stood up to Concord politicians and created a budget
without raising taxes."
* The recently enacted school funding law that Benson lobbied for raises
the statewide property tax.
After vetoing the budget, Benson signed a budget that actually spent
$314,000 more - money for his own office. (7/704, Eagle Tribune) New
Hampshire state government is facing a multi-million dollar deficit
because of the phony savings in Benson's budget. And instead of putting
$50 million in the Rainy Day Fund - as he claims on his campaign website
- Benson has depleted the state's Rainy Day Fund. As a result, two major
bond rating agencies downgraded the state's rating, making it more
expensive for the state to borrow money. (2/12/04, Union Leader,
"Report: Low reserves put state at budget risk.") Benson's cuts to state
education aid have increased property taxes across the state. ( 5/20/04
, Union Leader)
Claim 3: He raised $1.3 million from private businesses to fund a model
laptop program for schools in need.
Craig Benson's education record is about self-promotion rather than
substance. In reality, he has hurt New Hampshire 's public schools and
wants to eliminate the state's responsibility for education.
* Seventh graders in only seven New Hampshire school districts received
laptops. Those same school districts lost $1,039,491 in state education
aid in 2003, the year of the laptop program. Allenstown 7 th graders
received 62 laptop computers from Benson; however, the school district
could have bought 94 computers on their own, with the money they lost in
state education aid in 2003 - more than $100,000.
* Craig Benson has proposed a constitutional amendment to eliminate the
state's responsibility for education. (Benson04.com) * Benson broke his
campaign promises to eliminate donor towns; cap seniors' education
property taxes; and to keep education aid at least $904 million. In
fact, Benson cut aid to local schools. Instead of the $955 million
schools were slated to receive, the state distributed $895 million in
2003 and just $802 million in 2004. ( 5/12/02, Fosters' Daily Democrat,
"Craig Benson Speaks to Members of the Rochester VFW "; Benson's Senior
Citizens' Policy.)
Claim 4: And Governor Benson took on the federal government and drug
companies to get cheaper prescription drugs from Canada .
Craig Benson's Canadian drug initiative is just another case of Benson's
self-promotion over substance.
Benson's Canadian drug initiative consists essentially of adding a link
to his website.
A Nashua Telegraph investigation found that many prescription drugs
could have been bought for less at pharmacies recommended by other
states. "We never said we would provide the cheapest rate you could find
drugs in Canada ," Benson's spokesman Wendell Packard said. (4/6/04,
Nashua Telegraph, "Canadian pharmacy offers better deals than Benson
found")
5:27 PM
http://www.politicsnh.com/press_releases/2004/July/7_2nhdp.shtml
Statement from New Hampshire Democratic Party
On Craig Benson's Decision to Appeal Right-to-Know Decision
CONCORD - Michael Vlacich, Executive Director of the NH Democratic
Party, issued the following statement on Gov. Craig Benson's decision to
appeal a Superior Court ruling ordering him to comply with a right to
know request:
"It's disappointing, but not surprising, that Craig Benson is
continuing to stonewall the public. Citizens should not have to go to
court to find out who is running their government, but Craig Benson
continues to refuse to release even the most basic information about who
is working in the governor's office, what they are doing, and what
conflicts of interest they may have.
"Instead of wasting more taxpayer dollars refusing to follow our
state's right-to-know law, Gov. Benson should heed the call of most of
the state's newspapers and citizens and tell the public who is running
their government."
5:30 PM
http://premium1.fosters.com/2004/news/june2004/june%5F09%5F04/news/co0609c.asp
5:36 PM
Benson is POWER hungry and just because he has a lot of money doesn't make him a good governor. Bush has lots of money and that doesn't make him a good president. Cheney has lots of money and that doesn't make him a great guy, he is also power hungry. Kerry has a lot of money and that does not make him great. Many rich people step all over people to get that money, some only care about the paper, not the people they are supposed to represent. I want a government for the people by the people. Not a govermnment by rich people who don't care about the "sleeping masses" (who by the way are not sleeping, they are working their asses off to make ends meet with their min. wage, paid by the rich guys trying to control everything). Personally, I think money is the root of all evil. Money doesn't make the man. Maybe Tarbell is not great either, but let him have a chance. Or let Lynch have a chance. Benson has already done enough damage. Let's see what other people might do if they were the NH governor.
5:41 PM
Hey Grafton shitbags. THE PLAN IS TO TAKE YOU OVER BY FORCE! Don't get confused. I'm an FSP member and we talk about it all the time. We also formulate stories to spoon-feed this blog and twist your little hillbilly minds into our way of thinking. Haha, you are puppets.
You haven't had an original complaint or issue, that has not been planted by an FSP representative since the first week of inception. The funny thing is, I can tell you this now, and still be in control of you by the end of the day. The lights are a little dim in Grafton, and they will soon go out!
There is no plan to move to Grafton. Do you understand that shitbags?? Understand, when I say "shitbags" I'm talking about everyone in NH, not just Grafton. The plan is to TAKE OVER, migration is not necessary, who the fuck would live in Grafton on purpose anyway? BTW, NH wasn't chosen because it is the most " free state" it was chosen because the people who occupy it are generally the most ignorant residents that occupy any state and they are as defenseless as school girls when it comes to politics. You are completly predictable with every action you take. This blog is all you can do to defend yourselves against the impending take over?? That is why Grafton was chosen. Do you think the same response would be offered out west??? Not a chance, they would have skinned us alive for throwing Zack at them, but you people are great, you take it right in the ass and ask for more. Zack was great wasn't he?? I don't think anyone could have done it better. You responded with the usual predictability, just like what was planned. Haha, boy, it was beautiful!
Grafton will be TAKEN OVER! don't you worry about that. The snare has already been tripped by your very own top official. It's all over but the publicity for the next endeavor. This will go down in history as one of the most profound political coups in America's history, and ya'll git to be a part of it, so, look alive! Everyone is watching.
8:24 PM
Hey, does anybody know where Bush and Cheney post to regularly? Or Kerry? Nader? I bet they all cross-posted that JibJab flash animation to each other's fora. Oh the laughs we must be missing.
Mike is not an activist per se. He is active; but in a different way. He's like that Sheriff you have in Grafton that wants to build a community center or something like that, yet nobody is taking the idea seriously. Your Sheriff is investing his attention hopefully to reap community peacekeeping rewards for his own enterprise. Mike is also an investing consumer. Throws ideas out there, agitates a bit, and waits to see if a market develops. Most importantly, just like the rest of us FSPers, he is waiting for enough professionals to show up in our "targeted" service area market and tell us all to shut up and let the big boys and girls handle it from here. The principal of caveat emptor will require we all stay active and informed, but just as most of us outsource car repair, and brain surgery, and astropyhsics to professionals we will be outsourcing specialized skills from individuals that WON'T be chatting out in the open in clear text. So until that happens please be/aware that you are criticizing people that are just as ignorant of what is going on in the "System" as you are.
And then all you will have is the quiet paranoia of wondering what those FSP people are REALLY doing. Until the warrant articles start to pop up. :O)
- Mark here. :O)
1:09 AM
Tony, maybe you should tell everyone about the "Old Country" you escaped - migrated - from and maybe that will give people an idea of what we are fighting. Did your grandparents think it could happen there?
- Mark
1:49 AM
The NH news media - not just the Corrupt Monitor - is 100% state-funded soft money political advertising. Just look at the "Kerry Is A Liar" TV ad that had a limited run (funded by whom? Vietnam vets? HA!) but is now getting endless "make-news" heavy rotation on FauxNews. NH media works the same way. If you hear, see or read about it, you were meant to hear, see or read it by the status quo.
But you have the internet. You can SEARCH to see why it's not a bad thing that "our children" don't have all of the $8,000 per capita National State Government education spending. Or why being a donor town is actually a little less painfull this year despite the RINO reverse-propaganda. And the next. And the next.
http://www.google.com/
Oh, on the subject of deficit spending in NH: http://www.google.com/search?sourceid=navclient&ie=UTF-8&q=cafr
Has NH ALWAYS had a budget deficit? For those years NH didn't have a budget deficit where did the "excess" (I love that term) money go? Did it go anywhere? Did the taxers predict PERFECTLY how much money would be needed the following year? Or did they collect a little "extra"? Where is it? And how much interest has it been earning?
2:22 AM
Mark, you are funny, but not "haha" funny.
10:36 AM
LoL. Thanks.
- Mark
3:11 PM
When you take Grafton over will you build a big cement pond for swimming ?
9:36 PM
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