Monday, April 6, 2015

2015 LPNM Annual State Convention

Libertarian Party of New Mexico

2015 Annual State Convention

Venue – UNM School of Law, Room 2403 – 1117 Stanford Street NE, Albuquerque, New Mexico 87106

Saturday, 18 April 2015, 10 AM — 5 PM

Contact Mike Blessing – 505-448-9976 for details

A donation of $15 is requested to offset the cost of the use of facilities.

See the Convention's event page on Facebook for updates

Convention Schedule

10:00 – 10:30Registration
 
10:30 – 10:45Welcome and Introduction by Mike Blessing, Chair, LPNM
 
10:45 – 11:30Keynote address by Marita Noon, Energy Makes America Great
 
11:30 – 12:15Marisa Salazar, New Mexico State Chair at Young Americans for Liberty and Campus Coordinator at Students For Liberty
 
12:15 – 1:30Lunch Break
 
1:30 – 2:15Kerry Adams, Mere Liberty, Rio Rancho Observer
 
2:15 – 2:45Scott Lieberman, Libertarian National Committee
 
2:45 – 4:45LPNM Business Meeting
 
  • All who are registered to vote with the State of New Mexico as Libertarians ("LIB" on the voter registration card) can vote during nominations for public office.

  • Only Caucus Members can vote during LPNM business and internal LPNM elections.

  • Visitors do not vote in any actions or activities.

  • Central Committee meeting after close of the LPNM Business Meeting.
5:00 PMConvention closes

Speakers and Candidates Addressing the Convention Membership

Speakers will have 30–45 minutes to make their case, then should be open to questions from the audience. Audience members are requested to ask questions of the speaker as opposed to making statements. All speakers will be considered to have consented to being recorded, including but not limited to audio or video devices, for posting to the internet (YouTube, etc.).

Handouts for Distribution

The LPNM membership reserves the right to disavow any handouts (handbills, brochures, CDs, DVDs, etc.) offered for distribution to convention membership, as well as the person(s) doing the distributing.

Nominations for Candidates for Public Office

Anyone wanting to vote to nominate candidates for public office needs to make sure that they're registered to vote as "Libertarian" or "LIB" as the Secretary of State prints on the voter registration cards before they show up for the Convention.

So make sure to bring your voter registration card.

Participating in LPNM Internal Business

All you have to do to participate in the LPNM's internal business (changes to the Constitution and Bylaws, internal nominations, etc.) is to do the following (all steps are necessary, regardless of order completed):

  1. Register to vote as "Libertarian" so that your voter registration card reads "LIB" in the spot marked "PARTY" (lower right-hand corner).

  2. Sign up as what the LPNM refers to as a "Caucus Member." Basically, this means that you've signed the Non-Aggression Pledge and paid $25 in dues. You can do this at the Convention itself, as we'll have the necessary paperwork on hand.

  3. Pay the required amount for a convention membership.

Out-of-State Visitors

  1. All national-level candidates (for President, National Chair, LNC spots, etc.) are responsible for covering their own expenses, including but not limited to travel, meals, and lodging. They are, of course, free to solicit financial or other support from individual LPNM members, but the LPNM will not expend organizational resources for this purpose.

  2. The LPNM as an organization will NOT endorse candidates for any office until they have been officially nominated by an accredited affiliate of the Libertarian Party.


Copyright © 2015 Libertarian Party of New Mexico, Libertarian Party of Bernalillo County, New Mexico and Mike Blessing. All rights reserved.
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Monday, March 9, 2015

Does "Everybody" Truly Support Laws Against "Predatory" Lending? (Letter to the Editor)

Subject: Does "Everybody" Truly Support Laws Against "Predatory" Lending?
Date: Thu, 05 Mar 2015 22:33:50 -0700
From: Mike Blessing
To: Albuquerque Journal

Ms. Nathalie Martin recently wrote in a guest column titled "Remember who votes against cap on loan interest rates" that

"The bottom line is that everybody favors the cap, except the legislators who have lined their pockets with industry funds."

I for one do not favor the proposed cap, as it pushes those who can't qualify for loans from businesses that meet with Ms. Martin's approval to the extra-legal market -- the gangs, Mafia remnants and such.

I submit that losing a car title for nonpayment is much less stressful than having your fingers or leg broken. But maybe that's just me?

Still, I don't remember being directly polled on this issue in any way, shape or form, so I have to ask -- what sort of polling did Ms. Martin undertake?

To which polling firm was this contracted out?

What was the sample size? What was the demographic breakdown of the respondents? What was the poll format -- telephone, direct mail, via the web, or face-to-face?

Another loaded line from the article:

"One-thousand percent interest loans hurt New Mexicans, and we unquestionably need to destroy these high-cost lenders before they destroy us."

One easy way to avoid being "destroyed" by high-interest lenders is to simply not do business with them. I've gotten offers through the mail from such outfits in the past, and never been close to being "destroyed" -- I simply put the mailings into the shredder.


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

"Government is the disease that masquerades as its own cure."
-- Robert LeFevre

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


Copyright © 2015 Libertarian Party of New Mexico and Mike Blessing. All rights reserved.
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bomb gun firearm steak knife Allah Aryan airline hijack

Saturday, December 6, 2014

Quote of the Day for Saturday, 6 December 2014

"The essential thing about democracy, as every one must know, is that it is a device for strengthening and heartening the have-nots in their eternal war upon the haves. That war, as every one knows again, has its psychological springs in envy pure and simple -- envy of the more fortunate man’s greater wealth, the superior pulchritude of his wife or wives, his large mobility and freedom, his more protean capacity for and command of happiness -- in brief, his better chance to lead a bearable life in this worst of possible worlds. It follows that under democracy, which gives a false power and importance to the have-nots by counting every one of them as the legal equal of George Washington or Beethoven, the process of government consists largely, and sometimes exclusively, of efforts to spoil that advantage artificially. Trust-busting, free silver, direct elections, Prohibition, government ownership and all the other varieties of American political quackery are but symptoms of the same general rage.

"I simply defy any critic of my doctrine to find a single issue of genuine appeal to the populace, at any time during the past century, that did not involve a more or less obvious scheme for looting a minority."

H.L. Mencken

H/T Don Lee in Discordian Libertarians


Copyright © 2014 Libertarian Party of New Mexico, Libertarian Party of Bernalillo County, New Mexico and Mike Blessing. All rights reserved.
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Sunday, May 4, 2014

LPNM 2014 Annual State Convention

Libertarian Party of New Mexico

2014 Annual State Convention

Albuquerque Marriott (2101 Louisiana Boulevard NE Albuquerque New Mexico 87110 USA)

Albuquerque, New Mexico – Saturday, 10 May 2014

Contact Mike Blessing – 505-249-1248

Although there is no formal program for Friday evening, for anyone wanting to arrive early, the early birds will gather in the bar area of the Marriott at about 8:00 PM for an informal dinner / discussion – No-host, pay-as-you-go, dinner, cocktails, and networking.

9:00 – 9:50 AM Registration (25 per person, 15 for student) and pay-as-you-go no-host breakfast (order off the menu)
 
10:00 – 10:25 AM Introduction to the convention by Mike Blessing and others
 
10:30 – 11:45 AM Speech by Penn Pfiffner, Senior Fellow at the Independence Institute
 
11:45 AM – 1:15 PM No-host Lunch break
 
1:15 – 2:00 PM Address by Paul Gessing, President of the Rio Grande Foundation
 
2:00 – 2:20 PM Coffee break
 
2:20 – 2:45 PM Address by Daniel Moore, President of the Albuquerque Tea Party
 
2:45 – 3:00 PM Break
 
3:00 – 5:00 PM LPNM Business Meeting (no charge to participants)
 
  • All who are registered with the State of New Mexico as Libertarians ("LIB" on the voter registration card) can vote during nominations for public office.
  • Only Caucus Members can vote during LPNM business and internal LPNM elections.
  • Visitors do not vote in any actions or activities.
  • Central Committee meeting after close of the LPNM Business Meeting.
  • See below the schedule for more details.
5:00 PM Adjournment, followed by a possible informal dinner or watering-hole gathering

Speakers and Candidates Addressing the Convention Membership

Speakers should be open to questions from the audience. Audience members are requested to ask questions of the speaker as opposed to making statements. All speakers will be considered to have consented to being recorded, including but not limited to audio or video devices, for posting to the internet (YouTube, etc.).

Handouts for Distribution

The LPNM membership reserves the right to disavow any handouts (handbills, brochures, CDs, DVDs, etc.) offered for distribution to convention membership, as well as the person(s) doing the distributing.

Nominations for Candidates for Public Office

Anyone wanting to vote to nominate candidates for public office needs to make sure that they're registered to vote as "Libertarian" or "LIB" as the Secretary of State prints on the voter registration cards before they show up for the Convention.

So make sure to bring your voter registration card.

Participating in LPNM Internal Business

All you have to do to participate in the LPNM's internal business (changes to the Constitution and Bylaws, internal nominations, etc.) is to do the following (both steps are necessary, regardless of order completed):

  1. Register to vote as "Libertarian" so that your voter registration card reads "LIB" in the spot marked "PARTY" (lower right-hand corner).

  2. Sign up as what the LPNM refers to as a "Caucus Member." Basically, this means that you've signed the Non-Aggression Pledge and paid $25 in dues. You can do this at the Convention itself, as we'll have the necessary paperwork on hand.

  3. Pay the required amount for a convention membership.

Becoming an LPNM Candidate for Public Office

Anyone wanting to be a candidate for public office on the LPNM's ballot line needs to :

  1. Register to vote as "Libertarian" before the Governor's Election Proclamation for 2012 comes out. Usually this Proclamation is put out on the last Tuesday of January. A safe bet is to get this done at least two weeks before the Proclamation is released by the Governor's Office.

  2. Sign up with the LPNM as a Caucus Member (see above).

  3. Get nominated by your peers at the State Convention (or a County Convention for offices contained entirely in one county).

  4. Download and thoroughly read the candidate guides available from the Secretary of State's office, as they contain all of the details required by the State of New Mexico – filing dates, signature requirements, etc.

    See here for the guides – http://www.sos.state.nm.us/Candidate_And_Pac_Information/

  5. Read the Run for Office page at lp.org

Becoming a Delegate to the National Convention

Anyone wanting to be a delegate from the LPNM to the LP's 2012 National Convention needs to :

  1. Register to vote as "Libertarian" before the State Convention.

  2. Sign up with the LPNM as a Caucus Member (see above).

  3. Show up at this convention and signify willingness to be a delegate.

  4. Sign up as a National member.

  5. Download and read the LP National Bylaws and Convention Rules

  6. Show up at the National Convention.

Out-of-State Visitors

  1. All national-level candidates (for President, National Chair, LNC spots, etc.) are responsible for covering their own expenses, including but not limited to travel, meals, and lodging. They are, of course, free to solicit financial or other support from individual LPNM members, but the LPNM will not expend organizational resources for this purpose.

  2. The LPNM as an organization will NOT endorse candidates for any office until they have been officially nominated by an accredited affiliate of the Libertarian Party.


NOTES

  1. Approximate reading level – 13.2

  2. Reposted –

    1. Duke City Fix


Copyright © 2014 Libertarian Party of New Mexico and Mike Blessing. All rights reserved.
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Monday, February 25, 2013

Press Release -- HB402 "Assault Weapon" Ban Tabled

LIBERTARIAN PARTY OF NEW MEXICO APPLAUDS
TABLING OF 'ASSAULT WEAPONS' BAN

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE (2/23/13)

Contact: Mike Blessing, State Chair – 505-249-1248

[ALBUQUERQUE] – The Libertarian Party of New Mexico (LPNM) applauds the House Consumer and Public Affairs Committee decision to table House Bill 402, which would have made it illegal for most New Mexicans to own an "assault weapon or large-capacity ammunition feeding device."

"This was a surprisingly sensible decision by committee members, given there's no clear definition of what an 'assault weapon' actually is and because gun bans only serve to disarm the law-abiding public," said LPNM State Chair Mike Blessing. "Furthermore, the ridiculous wording of the proposed law made it virtually unenforceable."

The ban would have exempted several groups of individuals, including law enforcement officers and military personnel. More problematic, the bill would have exempted "a person [who] possesses an assault weapon or large-capacity ammunition-feeding device for use exclusively at a firing range owned and operated by a gun dealer licensed in New Mexico and the assault weapon or large-capacity ammunition-feeding device is located on the premises of the firing range."

"You have to ask what the point of banning 'assault weapons' is if a person is still allowed to own one as long as they claim they're only going to use it at a firing range," Blessing added. "It's idiotic to think this clause could possibly be enforced. If a police officer stopped you while you were initially transporting your so-called assault weapon to the firing range, would you be fined or jailed? And who would be tasked with ensuring people who own 'assault weapons' were keeping them at a firing range at all times? It's ridiculous."

The term "assault weapon" currently enjoys no singular legal definition. It's normally used to refer to the cosmetic features of semi-automatic firearms and can refer to firearms of any caliber. For example, a "military style" semi-automatic .22 caliber rifle may be designated an "assault weapon," whereas a common semi-automatic .22 caliber "hunting style" rifle would not be considered an "assault weapon."

"The LPNM opposes gun control laws at any level and considers them unconstitutional," Blessing added. "The LPNM will continue to vigorously fight to protect the Second Amendment rights of New Mexico citizens."

-30-

ABOUT THE LIBERTARIAN PARTY OF NEW MEXICO

Established in 1972 by Margaret Mathers in Farmington, LPNM is the third-largest political party in the state. LPNM seeks to preserve personal liberty and freedom by opposing new or more restrictive laws, new or more expensive spending programs, and new or higher taxes. Guided by the Non-Aggression Principle, which opposes the initiation of force to achieve political or social goals, Libertarians promote peace, personal freedom, and unfettered capitalism.

Official LPNM website: http://lpnm.us

Thanks to Maureen Johnson for putting together this press release.


Copyright © 2013 Libertarian Party of New Mexico, Maureen Johnson and Mike Blessing. All rights reserved.
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Sunday, February 17, 2013

Countering Statist False Fronts

Earlier today, I shared a post from the Libertarian Party's Facebook page –


Click the picture to see the original posting on Facebook.

One of the Libertarian Party's goals at this year's Students for Liberty conference was to help students tell the difference between real liberty groups and false fronts whose goal is to trick libertarians into voting for statist candidates.

It turned out that was completely unnecessary. They already knew as much as we did on the topic, if not more.

Some pointed out that when the National Rifle Association endorsed Mitt Romney, the NRA basically told every Republican governor in the country that they could pass "assault" weapons bans, and still count on an NRA endorsement if they ran for president.

Others pointed out that when the NRA called for more government, instead of ending "gun free school zones" which literally advertise a large group of disarmed victims, the NRA made itself irrelevant to the Liberty movement. Many had become supporters of the Gun Owners of America or another group out of disgust with NRA's support of statism.

As experts in marketing, the NRA had done the classic trade show trick of having attractive representatives hand out tote bags to every incoming person. The idea is, obviously, that then people put flyers, etc. in the bag, carry around the bag, and that tricks everyone at the conference into believing that the organization has a ton of support.

Unfortunately for the NRA, Libertarians, libertarians, minarchists, anarcho-capitalists, r3volutionaries, and voluntarists are not that easy to manipulate. In this picture, a student activist has stuffed his NRA tote bag into a Libertarian Party tote bag. Note that the LP didn't hand them out to every incoming person, only to people who requested them at our table.

Copyright © 2013 Libertarian Party of New Mexico and Mike Blessing. All rights reserved.
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Sunday, February 10, 2013

Welcome to Obamacare: The Optometrist will see You Now

A disturbing news story caught my attention this week. It illustrates the negative ramifications of health care reform, Obamacare, or the Affordable Care Act (ACA), whatever you prefer to call it.

It's a fact that extending healthcare to millions of currently uninsured people is going to place huge strains on the system. In California, it's suddenly dawning on the powers-that-be that there won't be enough doctors to serve all these new patients.

I know! Shocker, right?

What's actually shocking is California's proposed solution: Allow people with little to no actual medical training to serve as primary care providers. This includes pharmacists and optometrists. Granted, today all pharmacists and optometrists hold doctoral degrees. But it wasn't so long ago that becoming a pharmacist required just a bachelor's degree. In fact, prior to the late 1990s, a high school student could go directly into a 5-year pharmacy program. And while optometrists complete four years of post-graduate education, it's almost all focused on the eyes and vision care.

Here's a quote from a Los Angeles Times article that illustrates my concern about allowing professionals like optometrists to act as primary health care providers:
[California State Senator Ed Hernandez (D-West Covina), an optometrist] said he often sees Medicaid patients who come to his La Puente practice because they have failed their vision test at the DMV. Many complain of constant thirst and frequent urination. "I know it's diabetes," he said."
Really? Just because someone failed an eye exam at the DMV and has "constant thirst and frequent urination," this man "knows" the patient has diabetes? This surprises me because, as a nurse, I can think of several other potential diagnoses with these symptoms. These patients well may have diabetes, but I wouldn't automatically leap to that conclusion.

And this is what bothers me about the pending California legislation. I don't think individuals without direct patient care education and experience should be allowed to magically become "primary care providers." I have the utmost respect for pharmacists, but their doctoral education is specific to medication. Ditto for optometrists, but their post-graduate education is pretty much limited to eye issues. None of these folks have experience performing patient exams. 

Furthermore, as I mentioned earlier, the "Pharm D" or "Doctor of Pharmacy" degree has only been around since the late 1990s. The legislation presumably would grandfather in any pharmacist (or optometrist), regardless of their level of education. I don't know how long optometrists have been required to obtain a doctoral degree, but does it really matter? Do you want an optometrist coordinating your care for, say, lung cancer?

The proposed California legislation would relax restrictions on nurse practitioners and physician assistants, allowing them to practice independently. I find this a much more reasonable solution. In many states, including New Mexico, nurse practitioners have practiced independently as primary care providers for years. Numerous studies support the safety of independent practice by nurse practitioners. I'm sure the same would be true for PAs.

Although the education requirement to become an NP or PA is lower (usually a master's degree) than that to become a pharmacist or optometrist, NPs and PAs have actual medical education. They've studied pathophysiology extensively. They know how to take a medical history -- and know what items should raise red flags. In my experience, NPs and PAs are well aware of when to refer a patient up the ladder to an MD. Partly that's because they've worked in the system and view patient care as a team effort.

The anarchist in me wants to love this proposed California legislation. Let almost anyone with some sort of master's or doctoral degree in the biological sciences act as a primary care provider. Let individuals decide for themselves whether or not they want to trust an optometrist or pharmacist with their general health and well-being.

But the more savvy libertarian in me understands that the proposed California legislation won't give people a choice in the matter. Some people will be forced onto unqualified "primary care providers" because the real doctors will have to stop taking new patients. And when a person's choice in such an important matter is taken away, that's real cause for alarm.

Welcome to Obamacare: The pharmacist will see you now.

  
Copyright © 2013 Libertarian Party of New Mexico. All rights reserved.

Wednesday, February 6, 2013

Memo to Susana: "The Feds" is Us

I've heard some unsettling new rhetoric being bandied about regarding health care reform. I first noticed it in Governor Susana Martinez' announcement that New Mexico will be expanding Medicaid under Obamacare.
“If we were to expand Medicaid the federal government would pay a higher portion for these individuals' healthcare, and the state would actually save money,” Martinez said. 
Later, during media interviews that questioned her decision, she emphatically repeated, "The FEDS will pay 100 percent of this during the first three years. The FEDS will pay for 100 percent of this."

I've since heard this same rhetoric from other parties regarding Obamacare, in general. One woman I spoke with said, "The state [health insurance] exchanges will be good because the feds will help with the costs" (emphasis mine).

Well, here's a newsflash for Governor Martinez and, um, everyone else: "The Feds" is us. It's every taxpayer in the United States.

It's always scary to hear this insidious type of rhetoric invading the public discussion of such an important issue as healthcare reform. This single, subtle phrase -- the feds -- has been subverted from its original meaning (the federal government) into a description of a discrete and apparently magical entity, a body that somehow exists separate from each one of us.

But in fact, "the feds" is us, in a very literal sense. It's important for people to remember whenever the term "the feds" is uttered in reference to money, it refers to every single taxpayer in America. It's that simple.

In expanding Medicaid under Obamacare, Governor Martinez apparently believes it's OK to redistribute the wealth of other Americans into New Mexico, because that's what it boils down to. If, as she says, "the feds" will pay for 100 percent of our state's Medicaid expansion, that means taxpayers in New York and California, Georgia and Oregon, and all states in between are paying for it.

But it also means New Mexico taxpayers are paying for this Medicaid expansion. Just because our tax dollars are being run through Washington first (hence, becoming "the feds' money") doesn't make it any less a fact. 

Please, my fellow Americans, don't be fooled by this rhetoric. 

Copyright © 2013 Libertarian Party of New Mexico. All rights reserved.

Tuesday, January 29, 2013

Musings of a Libertarian Buddhist

Musings of a Libertarian Buddhist
by Ish Calleros

Recently, I was challenged by an Obama supporter friend of mine. A fellow "Buddhist" as to my views on gun control. The fact that I thought guns kept people safe from criminal and tyrannical activity apparently disqualified me from walking as did The Buddha.

This statement already illustrates the problem at hand. Coercion.

Libertarian values at their core center around the idea of non-aggression. Non-coercion. It is this idea that attracted me to the Libertarian political philosophy. Simply put, do not coerce others in any way, shape, or form. Religion, in my opinion is one of biggest forms in which people attempt to coerce people. By trade, I am a martial arts instructor. I tell my students all the time that bullying can occur physically, mentally or spiritually. I teach them to watch for signs of bullying and to never fall victim to it. Spiritual bullying can be very intense in nature. It can lead to murder, mass murder, or genocide.

That being said, what attracted me to Buddhism as a spiritual practice (read: not religion) was the idea of letting go of judgment as a way to improve the self. When you take the ideas of Siddhartha Gautama the man (The Buddha), he was very wise in leaving room for questioning his teachings. "If you find The Buddha, kill The Buddha" being one of my personal favorites, he encouraged revolutionary thought. Even if it were against his own ideas. He very carefully closed the door on any who would make a deity out of him.

Yet many did. Many do. To the point where when you mix Buddhism with modern "Democrat" beliefs, you get coercion. "You can't believe in gun rights and The Buddha's teachings at the same time." I disagree. In fact, if you look at the evidence, it would appear that Buddhism as a philosophy is more geared to Libertarian thought than other forms of spiritual practices while still leaving room for others who have different spiritual inclinations. 

Example: The Buddha said, "no one saves us but ourselves. No one can and no one may. We ourselves must walk the path." Were he a statesman saying this exact line, it might come at a time just before he gets rid of entitlement programs. In fact, that single line almost excludes Democrats from his teachings, not Libertarians. He goes on to say; "The whole secret of existence is to have no fear. Never fear what will become of you. Depend on no one. Only the moment you reject all help are you freed." I can assure you, right along with my Buddhist principles, I will not be taking any handouts soon. Seems pretty downright Libertarian to me.

I am not the only one who believes the belief systems are seamlessly compatible. Robert A. Meyer calls it "The Way of the Libertarian Warrior." His writings blend his idea of the Zen Buddhist – a peaceful warrior-with hard-hitting Libertarian edge: "When Patrick Henry said 'give me liberty or give me death,' he wasn't joking. He understood an eternal truth. Government subjugation of an individual's body, mind, and spirit amount to a living death."

The man understands the biggest bully known to man: The Government, and he will not take it lightly. Not a man lacking in diligence. And what did The Buddha say about diligence? "To be idle is a short road to death and to be diligent is a way of life; foolish people are idle, wise people are diligent."

Moving on to compassion, another Buddhist principle, I will give you a peek into my martial arts classroom. I tell the children as well as adults, "self-reliance is compassion in action. Loving yourself so much that you will defend yourself is actually the highest form of love. How can you love another human or be compassionate with one if you have none for yourself? Love yourself. You deserve it." Any compassion that you are capable of giving is because you are self-reliant to have something to give. When giving of your own free will, that is true compassion. Plus, the person receiving gets to feel true gratitude. How spiritually devoid is a transaction then when coercion is involved? In fact, the spiritually inclined man in me believes that coerced giving is "evil." You promote resentment from the giver. The person on the receiving end does not feel gratitude but entitlement. And the receiving party actually resents the giver for having more. When done in freedom, there is gratitude and compassion sprung forth into the universe. The government wants us to feel that the evil is not wanting to be forced to give. Again, I will refer back to the Buddha here: "virtue is persecuted more by the wicked than it is loved by the good."

The more I study and feel from within, I know that no other political philosophy can actually make sense to my Buddhist principles other than the Libertarian party. So I am grateful to the person who questioned my positions on gun control and the Buddha. It inspired a deeper introspection that reaffirmed my already solid principles.

Ish Calleros is the owner and operator of Kung Fu San Soo of Albuquerque

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Monday, January 28, 2013

OUR America Initiative Rally with Gary Johnson and Judge Jim Gray

Date – Monday, 8 April 2013
Time – 6:00 PM
Location – UNM Student Union Building (1 University of New Mexico, Albuquerque NM 87131)

2012 Libertarian Presidential Candidate (and former two-time New Mexico Governor) Gary Johnson and 2012 Libertarian Vice Presidential Candidate Judge Jim Gray will kick off their 2013 OUR America Initiative Nationwide Campus Tour at the University of New Mexico Student Union Building on Monday April 8th at 6:00 PM.

The OUR America Initiative seeks to broaden the parameters of the public policy debate of current topics in the national arena. We look to enlighten the population about civil liberties, free enterprise, limited government, and traditional American values. It is our aim to increase the amount of discussion and involvement regarding all-important issues.

Hosted by Governor Johnson's UNM fraternity (Sigma Alpha Epsilon), this event will feature Governor Johnson and Judge Gray addressing the audience about issues facing America in 2013, followed up by an open question and answer session.

Attendance is open (and complimentary) to the UNM student body as well as the general public.

As part of the policy of the OUR America Initiative, information booths (complimentary) will be made available to all social and political groups interested in participating.

If your organization would like to reserve a booth (space is limited – first come, first serve), contact the Our America Initiative by leaving a comment below.

For more information about the OUR America Initiative (donations accepted), go to: http://ouramericainitiative.com/

Afterwards, some of us will get together at the Frontier Restaurant (2400 Central Ave SE) for an informal no-host meet-and-greet.


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