Gun Owners are the True 99 % -- BOTE Math on American Gun-Related Deaths

Current mood: irate

For the uninitiated, "BOTE" stands for "back of the envelope" – cocktail napkins rip and tear too much to used for anything other than as napkins.

32,000 – annual number of firearms-related deaths in America (source: CDC)

270,000,000 – number of guns in America's private sector (BATFE estimate – other estimates double or triple this number)

Now we simply divide the first number (32,000) by the second number (270,000,000) to get a guesstimate of the number of guns involved in fatal incidents in America. Granted, this is rather inaccurate in that it assumes that each fatality involved a separate gun – the recent spree killers in Aurora, Colorado and Newton, Connecticut that Senator Feinstein is gleefully using to justify her latest victim disarmament scheme used the same firearms to kill multiple people. The fact is, that VD movement was rather stagnant here in the States after the year 2000 – this is just what the Senator needed to kick-start it back to life. As the adage goes, "never let a crisis go to waste."

(32,000) / (270,000,000) = 0.0001185185 – that's 0.0118518519 % of American guns are the ones that "kill people in America" (guns don't kill people – when was the last time you saw one fly around on its own, load itself, point itself at anyone and pull its own trigger? But try telling that to an advocate of victim disarmament.)

So to comply with the Senator's demands, allegedly to prevent spree killers like Lanza and Horton, the other 99.9881481481 percent of American gun owners simply must give up their liberty and property. Never mind that the 99% here never engaged in such evil, nor have any desire to do so.

Never mind that the 1994 "assault weapon" ban signed by Waco Willie Clinton was a dismal failure in stopping such massacres (or any other sort of crime) – the 101 California Street shootings were carried out using two pistols that the State of California had declared illegal six years before (the crappy Intratec TEC-9). What Feinstein wants, Feinstein is determined to get, and to Hell with the truth, or the consequences.

Calculations done with Libre Office Calc

Here's some more from the international scene:

Figure 1 – Gun-related deaths vs guns per capita, by country
The data used to make the above graph [PDF]

Sources for the above graph

List of countries by firearm-related death rate, Number of guns per capita by country

Graph made using Gnumeric

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NOTES

1. Reposted –
   
   
   1. Personal micro-blogs – Facebook / Google Plus / Twitter / Xanga
   2. Personal blogs – Wordpress / Xanga
   3. The Weekly Sedition – Facebook / Wordpress

---

Copyright © 2012 Mike Blessing. All rights reserved.

Produced by KCUF Media, a division of Extropy Enterprises. Webmaster Mike Blessing.

This blog entry created with Notepad++.

Guns aren't the problem, and never really were

Current mood: irate, pissed

-------- Original Message --------
Subject: Fwd: Guns aren't the problem, and never really were
Date: Tue, 18 Dec 2012 22:16:38
From: Mike Blessing
To: LPNM Discussion list @ Yahoo!, My Public Email Archive, The Weekly Sedition @ Yahoo!, New Mexicans for Liberty
BCC: [80 individuals]

Re: Gun Arguments Die in Latest Massacre

-------- Original Message --------
Subject: Guns aren't the problem, and never really were
Date: Tue, 18 Dec 2012 01:51:55
From: Libertarian Party of New Mexico <lpnm.chair@gmail.com>
To: <llinthicum@abqjournal.com>, <opinion@abqjournal.com>

"And it’s time for Americans to stop talking about our individual rights and start accepting our collective responsibilities."

With that one sentence, Ms. Linthicum disavows the one thing that separates America from the rest of the world – the United States is the only country with the notion of individual rights written into its core documents: the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution and the Bill of Rights.

She says "I don’t want to hear that it’s not guns that are the problem, people are." Well, she's going to, and not just from me, from what I see on the Journal's website. Because it's the truth. Inanimate objects such as guns, knives and baseball bats don't cause violent crime, as she alleges. That's like saying cars cause drunk driving.

Then she says she doesn't want to hear about how an armed teacher could have prevented the tragedy. Again, she doesn't want to hear the truth. She's got an agenda to promote and doesn't want anything to get in the way.

Fact is, Linthicum's pet cause of victim disarmament legislation has been a stagnant one since the year 2000. Twenty dead kids in a public school is just what she needed to bring it back to life.

Why hasn't she asked any questions about Adam Lanza's psychiatric state at the time of the tragedy? Was he doped up on Ritalin, Prozac or any other anti-depressant?

And about the shootings themselves:

Why is it that not many (if any) people shoot up private schools or religious schools like this? What makes the public schools so special in this regard?

Why is it that there's never any coverage of these sort of incidents happening with homeschooling families? After all, quite a few of those in the homeschooling movement are also supporters and exercisers of the right to own and carry weapons.

Why is it that these sorts of shootings never seem to happen at gun shows, at gun stores or at shooting ranges? After all, by Linthicum's brand of thinking, these are the places that they should happen the most at – lots of guns present, lots of ammo present.

Anyway, Linthicum wants us to put our inalienable Constitutional, civil, God-given human rights aside for her notion of "collective responsibility." Well, what happens when her side loses an election, and she becomes subordinate to someone else's notion of "collective responsibility" – a version that she doesn't particularly care for? Maybe then she'll learn to appreciate that "outdated" notion of individual rights?

I can only hope so.

_______________________________________________________________________

Mike Blessing / Phone – 505-249-1248
State Chair, Libertarian Party of New Mexico

Who owns you? Who runs your life? Who should – you or someone else?
Freedom is the answer – what's the question?

"If you wanna live long on your own terms
You gotta be willing to crash and burn"– Motley Crue, "Primal Scream"

---

NOTES

1. Links to this post
   
   
2. Reposted –
   
   
   1. Personal micro-blogs – Facebook / Google Plus / Twitter / Xanga
      
      
   2. Personal blogs – Wordpress / Xanga / Yahoo!
      
      
   3. LPUSA / LPNM – LPNM Blog / LPNM Official Facebook group / New Mexico Libertarians Facebook group / [LPNM-discuss] Yahoo! group
      
      
   4. The Weekly Sedition – Facebook / Wordpress / Yahoo!
      
      
   5. Duke City Fix / NMPolitics.org / Tea Party Nation
      
      

---

Copyright © 2012 Libertarian Party of New Mexico and Mike Blessing. All rights reserved.

Produced by KCUF Media, a division of Extropy Enterprises. Webmaster Mike Blessing.

This blog entry created with Notepad++.

Quote for the Day -- Sunday, 16 December 2012

Current mood: irate, pissed

"Laugh at me. Call me mad. Call me evil. But just remember me when you or your loved ones are being raped, or mugged, or dragged off never to be seen again – and you are an obedient, disarmed little citizen who can do nothing about it."
– Sean Gabb, Director, Libertarian Alliance
   from The Libertarian Enterprise #701, 16 December 2012:
   The War Against Armed Crime: We Need Guns to Make Us Safer

---

Copyright © 2012 Mike Blessing. All rights reserved.
Produced by KCUF Media, a division of Extropy Enterprises. Webmaster Mike Blessing.
This blog entry created with Notepad++.

It's "Romney AND the Rules Committee"

Current mood: aggravated, annoyed, bitchy, cranky

Subject: It's "Romney AND the Rules Committee"
Date: Tuesday, 28 August 2012 21:54:41 MST
To: ABQ C4L, KCUF Media [Y!}, The Weekly Sedition [Y!]
BCC: [71 Republicans, Libertarians, etc.]

-------- Original Message --------
Subject: Romney versus the Rules Committee
Date: Tuesday, 28 August 2012 15:42:01 -0400 (EDT)

8/28/2012 1:42 PM:

> It is a curious thing that although I have not yet finished studying the proposed Rules Changes and the many e-mails regarding them, some
> are hastening to condemn Mitt Romney for the rule proposal – despite the fact that all reports state it is the Republican Establishment
> faction of the Rules Committee that is behind the attempt.

I take it that the writer of this message didn't bother to watch any of today's C-SPAN coverage of the RNC Circus?

If anything, the GOP's rules changes were designed to shut out the Ron Paul people, on behalf of Romney.

Maybe this writer missed the parts of the vote count where the various speakers from the state delegations reported their states' votes, and the lady at the podium repeated the numbers for Romney back to the audience?

What happened there was that the lady repeated ONLY the numbers for Romney. In several instances, Ron Paul got more of a state's votes than Romney did, but Paul's votes weren't repeated back. For example, the Nevada delegation reported 17 votes for Paul and 6 for Romney, yet she only repeated back "6 votes – Romney."

So when I labeled this a "Coronation Circus" recently, I hit the bullseye:

What About the Coronation Circus in Tampa?

Because of this, a good bit of the Ron Paul people are determined not to vote for Romney. In fact, one of those in the New Mexico delegation contacted me late Friday night for some Gary Johnson bumper stickers and flash cards, so he could pass them out in Tampa. But since Steve Pearce reported that all 23 of New Mexico's delegation voted for Romney, I have to wonder if there was some last-minute re-arranging of the delegation, specifically to remove those supporting Paul.

Some will switch to supporting Gary Johnson. Others will write in Ron Paul. Still others will either cast a blank (not vote for anyone in the presidential race) or stay home entirely on election day.

> Those who dislike Romney are quick to pass judgement on him without knowing what is actually taking place in D.C. They howl with a sort of
> pathetic despair, toward which one cannot feel any sympathy at all. Such howlers are playing directly into the hands of the Leftists.

I'm not at all "quick to pass judgement" against Romney – I've been researching his brand of Big R socialism and mercantilism for the past few months now.

> I'm on the phone a lot with many voters. Some tell terrible stories about what the present economic climate is doing to them. I feel deeply
> for their anger and their plight. And I admire their fortitude. They will vote despite their anguish. Would that the howlers had as much
> gumption and clarity of mind.

It's not "fortitude," it's cognitive dissonance, where you tell yourself that eating from the dumpster is in fact gourmet dining. That way, when you repeat it to others, you really do believe it a bit and thus you're not really lying.

> This comment from me is to warn my readers not to be taken in by the howlers, not to be swayed by them, not to give up the fight to make
> Romney the next POTUS. Most of all it is to remind us all that we must not give up our commitment to shift the direction of the Republican
> Party toward a free-market, limited government restoration of individual rights.

Seriously – what's to like about Romney from a "Tea Party" mindset of standing up for free markets, Constitutionally-limited government, individual rights and public-sector fiscal restraint?

Romney as Governor of Massachusetts signed off on an "assault weapons" ban, stumped for the Brady Bill, and helped to socialize health care.

OK, DON'T take it from me.

See what Carla Howell (who ran against Romney for Governor in 2002) said about him:

LP Monday Message: Mitt Romney = Big Government

See this article from Reason magazine:

Consultant in Chief

See what Gun Owners of America has to say:

Where Does Romney Stand Today on the Second Amendment?

Romney signs off on permanent assault weapons ban

> We must be on guard against those who continue to rail against Romney – no matter whether they identify themselves as: "conservatives,"
> "Republicans" or "patriots." Such individuals will not help our effort to stop this nation from going "Forward" into the abyss of socialism.
> No matter what their protestations, the howlers are attempting to demoralize us with their bad-mouthing of Mr. Romney, with their
> sarcasm and hostility toward him and their obnoxiousness.

Let me shorten this paragraph for you:

"Block up your ears, shut up and do as the RNC tells you."

> Keep in mind that no matter what your evaluation of Romney – and I personally am coming to value him more highly the more I research him –
> the alternative will make doubly difficult our struggle to restore the ideals our Founding Fathers identified in the Declaration of
> Independence and in our Constitution. It is these ideals that are most important. With Romney we have better odds in our fight.

Romney as a guardian of the ideals set forth in the Constitution and Declaration of Independence? That's good for a laugh, but not much else.

For example, I've noticed that the meme the campaign is pushing is that Obama cut Medicare to fund Obamacare.

How does defending a 1960s-era socialist wealth-redistribution scheme against a 21st-century socialist wealth-redistribution scheme make you a "free marketer" ?

> The Rules Committee Establishment Republicans as best as I can make out, are on a collision course. We need to get rid of them, not a man
> who can benefit this nation far more than the howlers care to consider.

How will Romney "benefit this nation far more," exactly?

Maybe he'll re-make Obamacare into a federal version of RomneyCare?

How does that support free-markets and limited government?

---

NOTES

1. Reposted –
   
   
   1. Personal blogs – Blogspot / Wordpress / Xanga / Yahoo!
      
   2. KCUF Media – Yahoo!
      
   3. LPUSA / LPNM – [lpnm-discuss] Yahoo! Group / New Mexico Liberty Yahoo! Group

---

Copyright © 2012 Mike Blessing. All rights reserved.
Produced by KCUF Media, a division of Extropy Enterprises. Webmaster Mike Blessing.
This blog entry created with Notepad++.

Some Details about Me

SOME DETAILS ABOUT ME

Screenames:		GunsSaveLives, StarshipTrooper, RAH4Pres
Birthday:		21 February
Birthplace:		Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Current Location		Albuquerque, New Mexico
Eye Color:		Greyish-blue
Hair Color:		Dark brown (that was 2005 – now it's more grey)
Right Handed / Left Handed / Ambidextrous:		Right handed
Your Heritage:		Polish / German, from what I've been told by family
Family:		Scattered around the country – ABQ, NM, Philly, PA, Tampa, FL, others in WV and VA/DC
Named after:		No one that I know of
Shoes:		Boots / Sneakers / Sandals
Your Weakness:		Procastination, hesitation
Skills, Talents:		Computers, copiers, fax machines, firearms, radio operator, land navigation
Your Fears:		Rejection / Failure
Your Perfect Pizza:		Sausage and pepperoni (from Papa Murphy's)
Goal You Would Like To Achieve This Year:		Lose some weight
Your Most Overused Phrase On an instant messenger:		LOL
Thoughts First Waking Up:		"Oh shit, I have to get up?!?!"
Your Best Physical Feature:		My brain
Your Bedtime:		Work days – 12 AM / Off days – 2-3 AM
Most Missed Memory:		If I knew what it was, it wouldn't be missing, would it?
Soft Drinks:		Cherry Coke / Vanilla Coke / Root Beer
Fast Food:		Subway / Wingbasket / Jack In The Box
Single or Group Dates:		Single
Lipton Ice Tea or Nestea:		Either – Iced tea is my preferred drink
Ice Cream:		Strawberry, butterscotch
Cappuccino or Coffee:		Neither
Do you Smoke:		I'm a non-smoker, as opposed to an anti-smoker.
Do you Swear:		Sometimes
Do you Sing:		In the car
Do you Shower Daily:		Yes
Have you Been in Love:		Yes
Do you want to go to College:		Yes
Do you want to get Married:		If the right person comes along and wants to
Do you belive in yourself:		"Do you belive in myself"? Never heard the word "belive" before.
Most important lesson in life:		Don't start fights, but be prepared to finish them.
Do you get Motion Sickness:		Not really
Do you think you are Attractive:		A bit
Are you a Health Freak:		No
Do you get along with your Parents:		Sometimes
Do you like Thunderstorms:		Yes, as long as I'm not online – already had a burned-out hard drive
Do you play an Instrument:		The CD player
In the past month have you drank alcohol:		Not lately, but I prefer Makers Mark or a beer or two
Smoking:		No
Most used drugs:		Acetominophen / Ibuprofen (tried pot, but it didn't do anything for me)
In the past month have you gone on a Date:		No
In the past month have you gone to a Mall:		Yes (Cottonwood)
In the past month have you eaten a box of Oreos:		No
In the past month have you eaten Sushi:		Tried it a few years ago – wasn't impressed.
In the past month have you been on Stage:		Not for about two years.
In the past month have you been Dumped:		No
In the past month have you gone Skinny Dipping:		No
In the past month have you Stolen Anything:		No
Ever been Drunk:		Yes
Ever been called a Tease:		Yes, and I am.
Ever been Beaten up:		Yes, and I've done my share of the beating, too.
Ever Shoplifted:		Yes (not exactly proud of it)
How do you want to Die:		In bed with a beautiful woman
What do you want to be when you Grow Up:		Do I have to?
What country would you most like to Visit:		Not sure.

Advanced Global Personality Test Results Extraversion |||||||||||||| 60% Stability |||||||||||||| 60% Orderliness |||||||||||||| 53% Accommodation |||||||||||| 50% Interdependence |||||||||||| 50% Intellectual |||||||||||||||| 63% Mystical |||||||||| 36% Artistic |||||||||||| 43% Religious || 10% Hedonism |||||||||||||| 56% Materialism |||||||||||||||||||| 83% Narcissism |||||||||||| 50% Adventurousness |||||||||||||| 56% Work ethic |||||||||||||||| 70% Self absorbed |||||||||||| 43% Conflict seeking |||||||||||||||| 63% Need to dominate |||||||||| 36% Romantic |||||||||||||||||||| 83% Avoidant |||||||||||| 43% Anti-authority |||||| 30% Wealth |||||| 23% Dependency |||||||||| 36% Change averse |||||| 30% Cautiousness |||||||||||||||| 70% Individuality |||||||||||||||| 63% Sexuality |||||||||||||||| 70% Peter pan complex |||||||||||| 50% Physical security |||||||||||||||||||| 83% Physical Fitness |||||| 30% Histrionic |||||||||||| 43% Paranoia |||||||||||||| 56% Vanity |||||||||||| 50% Hypersensitivity |||||||||||| 50% Female cliche |||||||||||| 43%

Results Summary

Stability results were moderately high which suggests you are relaxed, calm, secure, and optimistic.

Orderliness results were medium which suggests you are moderately organized, hard working, and reliable while still remaining flexible, efficient, and fun.

Extraversion results were moderately high which suggests you are, at times, overly talkative, outgoing, sociable and interacting at the expense of developing your own individual interests and internally based identity.

Trait snapshot

social, outgoing, worry free, optimistic, upbeat, tough, likes large parties, makes friends easily, rarely irritated, open, enjoys leadership, trusting, dominant, thrill seeker, strong, does not like to be alone, assertive, mind over heart, confident, controlling, feels desirable, likes the spotlight, loves food, social chameleon, hard working, concerned about others

---

NOTES

1. Reposted –
   
   1. Personal blogs – Wordpress / Xanga

---

Copyright © 2012 Mike Blessing. All rights reserved.

Produced by KCUF Media, a division of Extropy Enterprises. Webmaster Mike Blessing.

This blog entry created with Notepad++.

Holographic TV Coming Soon?

Current mood: nerdy, pensive

For those fed up with wearing those stupid glasses while watching 3-D movies and TV, this could be a bit of relief:

While it's an interesting development, the title of the clip embedded here is "Holographic TV coming in 2012." Well, it's almost the end of 2012, and there doesn't seem to be any commercial version of this tech being pushed to market any time soon.

---

NOTES

1. Links to this post
   
   
2. Reposted –
   
   1. Personal micro-blogs – Facebook / Google Plus / MeetMe / Twitter / Xanga
      
      
   2. Personal blogs – Wordpress / Xanga

---

Copyright © 2012 Mike Blessing. All rights reserved.

Produced by KCUF Media, a division of Extropy Enterprises. Webmaster Mike Blessing.

This blog entry created with gedit Notepad++.

The Title Says It All

Current mood: bitchy, cranky

The title of this video clip – "Why our Country is Going Down The Drain" – really is self-explanatory.

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NOTES

1. Reposted –
   
   1. Personal blogs – Wordpress / Xanga

---

Copyright © 2012 Mike Blessing. All rights reserved.

Produced by KCUF Media, a division of Extropy Enterprises. Webmaster Mike Blessing.

This blog entry created with Notepad++.

Republicans, Grow Some Vertebrae for a Change

Current mood: annoyed, bitchy, cranky

11/25/2012 9:29 AM:

> A small group of Republicans in the south of New Mexico have the right idea. They are planning to attend the State Central Committee meeting
> and start there to change things. Good for them. It's the sort of thinking, the sort of effort we should all be doing. But most of us are not.

More than likely, they'll get the same sort of reception that Morton Blackwell and the Ron Paul Republicans got from Reince Priebus and the RNC at the GOP's National Convention in Tampa, Florida this past August:

"Shut up and go sit in the corner. When we need your support, you better be there for us."

> Why is not the State Republican Party talking to us? Why are not the county RPs sending their members messages of future plans?

Why should Monty Newman and Jay McCleskey care in the slightest what the grassroots Republicans think?

After all, the grassroots turned out for Slick Willard Romney and Heather Wilson, after Wilson and Romney were handed their nominations on silver platters by the GOP-E insiders.

Face it – the GOP-E insiders absolutely love you when you're marching to their orders, no questions asked. It's when you start insisting that the nominees adhere to certain principles that you get the door slammed in your face.

Just ask Ron Paul, Gary Johnson or Adam Kokesh how this works – either one of them can spell it out for you in detail.

Neither Romney nor Wilson were anything resembling capitalists of the limited-government, free-market orientation. Rather, they are more the sort of false "capitalists" that both Frederic Bastiat and Karl Marx excoriated. Wilson and Romney are more properly called mercantilists as Adam Smith defined the term in 1776.

But we all knew this since February and March of this year.

If you truly want to show McCleskey, Newman and Priebus that you're serious players and not just waiting for new marching orders, then you need to tell them exactly where in explicit terms where they can stick candidates like Romney and Wilson.

> Why are we not having town halls in major cities so that grassroots Republicans can mull over ideas, consider plans to become a strong,
> solid phalanx and attract more adherents?

A "solid phalanx" of star-spangled jellyfish is what you'll get under the management of McCleskey, Priebus and Newman.

At least that's what you've gotten in the past from the GOP-E gang.

How will continuing to kowtow to them as you've done in the past yield better results for you?

> Why are we not gearing up to educate the population about the virtues of capitalism?

Good question.

When did you start caring about these?

If Republicans truly cared about "the virtues of capitalism," then why did they nominate the likes of Heather Wilson and Mitt Romney for ANY sort of public office?

If you truly cared at all, then you wouldn't give Republicans cut from the mercantilist mold the slightest bit of slack, just because they have the magic "Big R" after their names.

What did I see in the 2012 election cycle? Did I see any of that sort of courage and fortitude?

No, I didn't. Instead, most of what landed into my inbox was stuff like "your wasting your vote," "Youre either with us or youre with Obama!!!" – stuff like that.

> I do not want to hear more of the same pabulum from the same elected officials that have not stood up for individual rights, limited
> governments and free markets.

What you need to do is tell the GOP-E types where they can stick the pabulum and those who push it.

As long as you continue to support them unconditionally after they give you that pabulum, they see that you're willing to settle for it. Thus that's all you'll really get from them.

> Instead, I'd like to hear Marco Rubio speak and Thomas Sowells, Yaron Brook and Dan Watkins. I'd like to hear John A. Allison talk to us
> about his new book, The Financial Crisis and the Free Market Cure.

Start raising money – the sooner the better, as all of these potential speakers are likely to charge a pretty penny to show up here in New Mexico.

And make sure to keep the GOPNM State Committee OUT of the loop where bringing speakers in is concerned – or all you will get is more of the same.

For what it's worth, I will observe with amusement the efforts of the "Ron Paul" and Tea Party crowds to "take over" the Republican Party. I suspect that future efforts in this vein will yield similar results to previous efforts along that line.

Rather, I predict it will be the C4L and Tea Party groups who end up getting taken over and co-opted by the GOP-E types, and thus subsumed into being obedient, servile troopies for them. In short, pawns.

So if you LIKE riding in circles on a bus for a few hours, if you LIKE the MC confirming the votes for the GOP-E candidates while ignoring the votes for your candidates, if you LIKE being told what to say and what to think – then please continue on as before.

Anyway, Republicans – PROVE ME WRONG (No one's done it yet.)

Hey, no one ever said that living as free people was easy – if it was, then everybody would do it. Sticking to your principles and standing up for what's right can be costly, in many ways. Sometimes you might have to lose an election rather than put a mercantilist with the magic Big R after his name into public office.

Final notes: Gary Johnson is JUST GETTING STARTED. He plans to do a 2013 college speaking tour, just like he did in the 2012 election. And at his Election Night Party at the Hotel Albuquerque, I asked him to form at least an exploratory committee for the 2014 New Mexico gubernatorial race.

_______________________________________________________________________
Mike Blessing

Who owns you? Who runs your life? Who should – you or someone else?
Freedom is the answer – what's the question?

"If you wanna live long on your own terms
You gotta be willing to crash and burn"
– Motley Crue, "Primal Scream"
_______________________________________________________________________

NOTES

1. Reposted –
   
   
   1. Personal micro-blogs – Facebook / Google Plus / Twitter / Xanga
   2. Personal blogs – Wordpress / Xanga / Yahoo!
   3. LPUSA / LPNM – New Mexico Libertarians Facebook group / [LPNM-discuss] Yahoo! group
   4. The Weekly Sedition – Facebook / Twitter / Wordpress / Yahoo!
   5. Duke City Fix / NMPolitics.org

---

Copyright © 2012 Mike Blessing. All rights reserved.

Produced by KCUF Media, a division of Extropy Enterprises. Webmaster Mike Blessing.

This blog entry created with Notepad++.

Results from the 9 October UNM Rally

Current mood: excited

For those wondering how the Gary Johnson UNM Rally for Jobs, Opportunity and Diversity on Tuesday, 9 October 2012 went, here's some of the details:

I arrived right at about 5:25 PM, after spending about ten minutes looking for a parking lot – the "A" lot was packed. I ended up paying the ∅7.00 for a spot in the parking structure next to the square by the SUB.

Upon arriving at the ballroom, I dropped off my plastic milk crate full of brochures at the LPNM table manned by Mark Curtis, Ron Bjornstad, Elizabeth Honce, Elisheva Levin, and others.

After dropping off the supplies (it was a bit painful to carry that crate from the parking structure to the ballroom), I met Tom Mahon and Todd Myers where "Jack Gault" was parked. They had a spare Sharpie marker-pen on hand, so I signed the van on the front of the hood – dead-center, right above the edge where the latch is located.

At the same time, I made contact with the Sigma Alpha Epsilon representative and made myself available for my speaking slot.

While waiting for my speaking time, I went to the "green room" and had my picture taken with Gary Johnson.

So I presented my speech, came in at 6:20 – 1:20 longer than the 5 minutes I had planned for. While I didn't get the standing ovations that later speakers got, several people came up to me afterwards and complimented me on my bit.

Next up for the podium was the Independent American Party's candidate for U.S. Senate, Jon Barrie. If Jon wasn't running, I suspect many New Mexico Libertarians would be casting blanks come their time at the ballot "box." Jon talked for about ten minutes, mentioned that the politicians had their chance (too many chances to be forgiven come the election) to fix things, and ended with a standing ovation from the audience.

Following Jon Barrie was Paul Gessing of the Rio Grande Foundation, New Mexico's only think-tank that supports what the Tea Party claims to support – free-market economics, public-sector fiscal restraint, individual rights and Constitutionally-limited government. Paul talked about what New Mexico needs to prosper as a state.

After Paul, Jim Villanucci of 770 KKOB-AM spoke about how much crap listeners were giving him about his not supporting Mittens. After all, it's either "you're for Romney or you're for Obama," correct? Not even close – and with that, Jim introduced Gary Johnson as the only candidate in the presidential race worthy of libertarians' support.

Here's the video clip on YouTube of Gary's speech – http://youtu.be/bInmA5MhXTg

What did Gary discuss? First, he talked about his business background – he started Big J Enterprises on his own out of college, built it to 1,000 employees, then sold it in 1999 without having to fire anyone. He said that his business career is just a testament to showing up on time and doing what you say you'll do for people, maybe a little more.

His unsolicited advice to the audience? Go into business for yourself as opposed to punching someone else's time-clock – you'll find it much more rewarding. This dovetails with what I've heard from other libertarian entrepreneurs . . . .

Here's some of his talking points:

• With everything that you do in life, there are obstacles – you just have to keep going.
  
  
• When he first ran for office (1994), the GOP leadership blew him off as "unelectable," but he ended up winning the general election.
  
  
• While serving as Governor of New Mexico, he vetoed 750 pieces of legislation – more than the other 49 governors in the country put together. He had thousands of line-item vetoes, taking it to a new level – only two were overridden.
  
  
• With those vetoes, he saved up a few dumptrucks-full of ∅∅∅∅∅∅∅ by cutting out unnecessary spending and blocking regulations that weren't going to make us the slightest bit safer.
  
  
• The powers-that-be predicted imminent disaster after Johnson's vetoes, which didn't happen. Also, he was an equal-opportunity vetoer – he vetoed bad bills from Republicans
  
  
• Of all of the presidential candidates for the 2012 election season, he's the only one viewed favorably in his home state – "people wave at me with all five fingers, not just one."
  
  
• Of all the presidential candidates, he had the best record on job creation, except that he didn't create any jobs as governor – any jobs created were created by the private sector. There was certainty in New Mexico's regulatory environment, and that makes it easier for the private sector to create jobs.
  
  
• Out of all of the presidential candidates, he has the most "Liberty Torches" from the ACLU (21 out of 24).
  
  
• He's the only candidate who doesn't want to bomb or use sanctions against Iran. Iran isn't the threat to America or anyone else that the hairspray-heads supporting the Imperial District make it out to be.
  
  
• China isn't a threat to America due to the way the two countries trade with each other.
  
  
• Bring the troops home from Afghanistan now.
  
  
• Military interventions around the world mostly create more enemies for America.
  
  
• Marriage equality is a federal issue and constitutionally guaranteed.
  
  
• He's the only presidential candidate who wants to end the drug wars now. Over fifty percent of Americans support legalizing marijuana. Ninety percent of the drug problem is prohibition-related, not user-related.
  
  
• If he had been president after "9/11," hw would have vetoed the USA-PATRIOT Act of 2001 and the NDAA-2012. "Homeland Security" is incredibly redundant. Let's leave airport security to the airports, airlines, cities, etc.
  
  
• We need to balance the federal budget now – he promises to submit a balanced budget to Congress for 2013. Otherwise, with the current out-of-control Federal Reserve, we're looking at a monetary collapse at some point in the future. What we need is a 43 % cut in spending across the board.
  
  
• When someone complains about the idea of a 43 % cut in Medicare spending, the alternative is NO Medicare. (Same goes for the rest of the welfare state, too – tighten the belt or lose your shirt.)
  
  
• Cut military spending by 43 % too – the operative word there is "defense," not "offense," not "nation-building."
  
  
• The current spending situation is the biggest threat to our national security.
  
  
• He's the only candidate who wants to dump the income tax, corporate tax and replace them with one consumption tax – the "Fair Tax."
  
  
• He's the only candidate that would shut down the Federal Reserve.

Notes and recollections from the event:

• The estimated total attendance was around 500 people.
  
  
• Cleanup was rather easy – it mostly consisted of policing up unused campaign supplies that were left behind by attendees.
  
  
• I was expecting someone from the GOP to attempt some sort of disruption – bringing in signs for Romney or Wilson, that sort of thing. Luckily, nothing of the sort happened that I saw.
  
  
• I found some campaign cards from three Republicans running for State-level judgeships on the floor in the seating area – Miles Hanisee, David Standridge, and Samuel Winder. It was also reported to me by event staff that Judge Winder himself had been in the audience.
  
  
• Someone (ID unknown) had apparently issued invitations to both Martin Heinrich and Heather Wilson to appear on the speakers' list. After all, it's a non-partisan event, due to SAE being a 501-C-3 entity and all. I was told that while Heinrich declined immediately, Wilson dithered and vacillated around about it for two weeks, declining for sure on the Monday before (8 October).
  
  
• About 60 percent of the brochures that I brought with me were picked up by attendees and passerby – which helped a lot on the way back to the parking structure. (Note to self: get a hand-truck for next time!)

All in all, this was the best-attended LPNM event I've seen yet in my 18 years with the organization. Thanks to all who made it possible:

The UNM Chapter of Sigma Alpha Epsilon
Jon Barrie
Ron Bjornstad
Chris Chase
Mark Curtis
Paul Gessing
Susan Ann Holland
Elizabeth Honce
Melanie Hyland
Gary Johnson
Bruce Levin
Elisheva Levin
Tom Mahon
Sean Mallory
Todd Myers
Reviva
Kyle Ruggles
Jim Villanucci
Bob Walsh

Apologies to anyone I've omitted – the fault there is entirely mine.

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NOTES

1. Reposted –
   
   
   1. Personal micro-blogs – Facebook / Google Plus / Twitter / Xanga
      
      
   2. Personal blogs – Blogspot / Wordpress / Xanga
      
      
   3. LPUSA / LPNM – LPNM Blog / LPNM Facebook group / New Mexico Libertarians Facebook group / [LPNM-discuss] Yahoo! group
      
      
   4. The Weekly Sedition
      
      
   5. Duke City Fix / NMPolitics.org

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Copyright © 2012 Libertarian Party of New Mexico and Mike Blessing. All rights reserved.

Produced by KCUF Media, a division of Extropy Enterprises. Webmaster Mike Blessing.

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"Accomplishments" and Candidates

Current mood: excited

If nothing else, please forward this on to someone who can use this information.

Sylvia Bokor [ http://sylviabokorcomments.blogspot.com/ ] wrote:

The word "accomplishment" refers to an action that results in a value, offers a benefit or enhances the enjoyment of life. It is an accomplishment to learn to play the piano. It is an accomplishment to be able to provide for one's family by earning a living. It is an accomplishment to create a lovely garden.

It is not an accomplishment to take from those who earn their living and give it to others. That's called looting.

It is not an accomplishment to force men to waste their time filling out paperwork, or to force them to take actions over which they have no say and with which they do not agree. That's called enslavement.

It is not an accomplishment to pretend you have done work you have not done, to make false statements, or to make claims to property that is not yours. That's dishonest. It's called cheating.

If the Left's intention in publicizing Obama's "accomplishments" was to show how wonderful Obama is, they miscalculated. The lists actually show the extent to which his Administration has violated individual rights, throttled businesses, straight-jacket banking operations, interfered with overseas investment, intruded upon private enterprise compensation practices, established offices of soviet-style czars to harass and control hundreds of business activities.

In short, they constitute a clear picture of what the Left is after: statism.

Statism is the most corrupt of political ideas because it holds that might makes right, that men are slaves born only to serve and enrich their rulers, without benefit to themselves, without recognition of their rights, without recourse to law or justice.

The Left's ideas are destructive. But come November they could win if those who can fight them and should fight them refuse to fight them.

If you are in a leadership position in a political party and you withhold money from deserving candidates who have major grassroots support, who champion de-regulation, free markets and individual rights, you are refusing to fight the Left's destructive ideas, statism.

If you are a voter that deplores Obama's policies but do nothing to support those who oppose those policies, you are refusing to fight the Left's destructive ideas, statism.

I agree one hundred percent.

So I take it you'll be supporting the true Tea Party candidates in the general election:

Gary Johnson for president – http://garyjohnson2012.com

Jon Barrie for U.S. Senate – http://jonbarrieforsenate.com

Anything else really is a wasted vote.

I've been "Tea Party" since 1996, when I started publicly stumping for individual rights, Constitutionally-limited government and fiscal restraint in the public sector.

Gary Johnson has been "Tea Party" in the same sense since 1994.

Johnson spent eight years as Governor of New Mexico supporting "Tea Party" values – he kept the state in the black for all of that time, while managing to get re-elected in a state that's 2-to-1 of the opposing party.

During those eight years, Johnson never treated gun owners (or any other group, that I could tell) as a political soccer ball, to be kicked around from the bully pulpit at a whim.

There's a reason they call it the bully pulpit.

This stands in stark contrast to any other of the candidates for the presidency that I've seen. Most of them like to rhetorically stomp on one group or another for political brownie points. Not so with Gary Johnson. None are as . . . presidential as Johnson.

As for the other "big two" – both are anti-gun-owner bigots at heart, and the one who was a governor signed off on a plan to take over health care that was plagiarized on the national scene by the staff of the one who was a senator.

The big differences between them don't seem to be of philosophy or ethics, but of severity and priorities.

Concerning the U.S. Senate seat from New Mexico that's up for grabs – New Mexicans can play eenie-weenie-mighty-mo with the two socialist candidates who won the primaries last night. Or they can vote "Tea Party" by supporting Jon Barrie.

I've never met Jon, but I'd like to. He's campaigning as a Christian conservative, yet was recommended to me by a long-time libertarian who's an enthusiastic pot smoker and atheist.

Jon appears to be running his campaign the way a campaign should be run – by volunteers on a shoestring budget. Thus he needs all the help we can give him.

To start, Jon needs signatures on nominating petitions to get on the ballot. For those inclined to help, he's got the paperwork all ready to go on his site.

That will be all for now. Thank you for reading.

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Mike Blessing / http://mikewb1971.xanga.com / Phone – 505-515-7015

Who owns you? Who runs your life? Who should – you or someone else?
Freedom is the answer – what's the question?

"If you wanna live long on your own terms
You gotta be willing to crash and burn"
– Motley Crue, "Primal Scream"

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Copyright © 2012 Mike Blessing. All rights reserved.
 
Produced by KCUF Media, a division of Extropy Enterprises.
This blog entry created with gedit and Notepad++.

Gary Johnson 2012 -- Peace is Cheaper

Current mood: excited

Gary Johnson 2012 – Peace is Cheaper

From the page of the embedded YouTube clip —

Republicans are Thelma. The Democrats are Louise. Together they are taking our nation over a cliff. We have a President and a majority in Congress who insist on endless war. But a majority of Americans are insisting on Peace. As our President, Gary Johnson will end the wars and bring our men and women home -- where we will rebuild and renew our broken nation together. We the People will have PEACE. Demand it. Donate to it. Elect it. Protect it. The fight for our liberty never ends.

Media coverage of this clip — KOB-TV (Ch.4) – Libertarian Party releases first ad featuring Gary Johnson

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Copyright © 2012 Libertarian Party of New Mexico. All rights reserved.

Produced by KCUF Media, a division of Extropy Enterprises. Webmaster Mike Blessing.
This blog entry created with gedit and Notepad++.

STAIF-II -- 13-15 March 2012, ABQ, NM

The Space Technology and Applications International Forum (STAIF) II

Albuquerque Marriott Pyramid North
5151 San Francisco NE Albuquerque NM 87109
Tuesday, 13 March – Thursday, 15 March 2012

Announcing a science conference, STAIF II, to happen in Albuquerque March 13-15, 2012. The conference will present peer reviewed scientific papers on physics, exotic propulsion concepts, discoveries about Mars and the use of science to remediate problems here on Earth. The conference will be held at the Marriott Pyramid North. Senior, student and day rates will be available. The banquet speaker will be noted science fiction writer and libertarian philosopher L. Neil Smith.

The purpose of this conference is to enable highly qualified scientists to present ideas that are far in advance of mainstream thinking.

• Listing of conferences / sessions (More details)
  
  
• Regisration – Online or by mail (printable form)
  
  
• Submit an abstract (Read the format guidelines for papers first!)
  
  
• Quotes to think about
  
  
• Links
  
  
• Sponsorship
  
  
• Contact Form
  
  
• Hotel Information

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Produced by KCUF Media, a division of Extropy Enterprises. Webmaster Mike Blessing.
This blog entry created with gedit and Notepad++.