If the biotech and medical fields were to devise some sort of prenatal test, accurate to 99 percent, that could determine whether the baby-to-be was going to be heterosexual or homosexual, would it then be acceptable to abort that baby if it turned out to be homosexual?

This of course assumes that sexual orientation is a genetically-determined trait – something that has yet to be scientifically proven.

OK, time to take a break from the politicking for a bit, if for no other reason than to prove that I'm not a one-trick pony here.

I guess it's time to jump on board this particular Xanga bandwagon. Never mind that this will be crossposted to what's become my main blog site.

First the "bad news" . . .

My Turn-Offs

1. Ignorance, especially the intentional kind. Even worse, people who are ignorant, yet insist that they have all the answers.
   
   
2. Habitual tardiness. If you say you'll be there at 7 PM, be there at 7 PM.
   
   
3. Dishonesty. Especially when it concerns where a potential partner and I stand with each other.
   
   
4. Head games about where I stand with a potential partner.
   
   
5. Control freaks. I got it from both Mom and Dad as a kid and teenager – my brother and I were the little flags on the tug-of-war rope. I've seen that tendency in myself, as well, and I don't like it. What is it that Alcoholics Anonymous tells the drunks – "Admitting you have a problem is the first step" ?
   
   
6. Gangsta princesses, with the cheap-looking tattoos and cheesy dollar-store bling. That should be self-explanatory.
   
   
7. Excessive makeup and jewelry. Less is more in this category.
   
   
8. Insistence that I change my views, interests and preferences. Especially when I've already expressed a distaste for the expected replacements.
   
   
9. Expecting me to provide what you want without giving me anything that I want in return
   
   
10. Self-pity – no guy worthy of the name wants the question "Do I look fat?"

On to the good stuff.

My Turn-Ons

1. General agreement and tolerance where my politics and religion (more accurately, lack of religion) are concerned. Better yet, you have similar interests along those lines.
   
   
2. Similar tastes in movies, music, food and drink.
   
   
3. Tolerance for the self-defense tech that I own and sometimes carry. Better yet, you have similar interests along those lines.
   
   
4. Punctuality. If you say you'll be there at 7 PM, be there at 7 PM. Or maybe even a little early.
   
   
5. Flirting and teasing is more fun when it goes back and forth.
   
   
6. Reciprocity – I give what I get. I expect to get what I give.
   
   
7. A sense of humor similar to mine.
   
   
8. The understanding that when you want to get something from me, you have to give me something in exchange. As Heinlein said, "There Ain't No Such Thing As A Free Lunch."
   
   
9. A potential partner for workouts, sparring, those sorts of things.

In short, if you see that I makes your life better, tell me. And be specific. Figure out A) what I like and B) what I hate (I'm willing to tell you if you're willing to listen), offer to do A and avoid B, AND STICK TO IT.

All I can offer here is the same deal – to figure out A) what you like and B) what you don't like, then offer to do A and avoid B.

---

FOR FURTHER REFERENCE

1. John Ross – Ross In Range
   
   
   1. Advice to Women About Men, or JR Uses Your Wristwatch to Tell You the Time
      
      
   2. Understanding Women & "The Rules" For Men, or Think of it Like Driving in England
      
      
   3. Women, Teasing, Tests, One-itis, and Hope, or Ross in Range Stands in for Dear Abby
      
      
   4. Ask the Assassin, or The Advice Request Emails Won't Stop Coming
      
      
   5. Ask the Assassin: Thoughts on Marriage, or Why the Hell Are You Asking Me, Anyway?

---

Copyright © 2013 Mike Blessing. All rights reserved.
Produced by KCUF Media, a division of Extropy Enterprises.
This blog entry created with Notepad++.

Santa Fe City Councilor Patti Bushee and ProgressNow New Mexico's Executive Director Pat Davis will tell you that they are all in favor of expanding the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered people. In reality, they are ultimately hindering the LGBT cause, as opposed to helping it.

"How so?" you might ask. After all, both of them have been rather outspoken in support of same-sex marriage.

In today's Albuquerque Journal, Bushee was quoted (and her hand photographed) as "urging county clerks to start issuing same-sex marriage licenses."^[1]

And ProgressNow New Mexico joined in yesterday with an email blast and Facebook posting.^[2]

Now remember that in 2005, Democrat Attorney General Patsy Madrid filed litigation against same-sex marriage licenses issued by Victoria Dunlap. Those with good memories for the political scene will note that Dunlap was the Republican County Clerk in Sandoval County at the time. After Dunlap left office, Patsy dropped the lawsuit she filed against Dunlap's actions.

The lesson to be learned from this is the Democrats will treat people of the LGBT persuasion as a political soccer ball, to be kicked around at a whim. Why shouldn't they, as LGBT people will vote overwhelmingly for the Democrat regardless of what Democrats do between elections?

And it should also be noted that both Bushee and Davis regard the rights of others not in their political circle as soccer balls, to be kicked around at their leisure. If not as flies to be swatted.

On the latter, I'm referring to one issue in particular, specifically the individual right of private civilians to own and carry weapons, for the purpose of self-defense.

On 20 December 2012, Bushee said that she would sponsor a ban on civilian possession of "assault weapons" – military-pattern semiautomatic rifles – within the city limits of Santa Fe^[3]. Warbling in tune with Bushee, ProgressNow NM has kept up a steady flow of strident, hoplophobic catcalls on behalf of the victim disarmament cause^[4].

Consider that since it was founded in 1971, the Libertarian Party has supported the rights of LGBT people to live their lives free from coercion just the same as we libertarians support the rights of conservatives to live free from coercion.

How many conservative-type people in New Mexico really care per se about LGBT people being of the LGBT persuasion? Probably not many. So when I bring up to them the idea that LGBT should be just as free as they are to live without coercion, my case is undermined by Davis, Bushee and their ilk clamoring to infringe upon other, equally-cherished rights. "Why should I care about their rights when they don't care about mine?" goes the question.

In short, if Bushee and Davis want their cherished freedom to be LGBT to be upheld, it would behoove them to respect the rights of others to own and carry weapons, among other rights.

---

NOTES

1. Albuquerque Journal: 20 March 2013 – City Attorney: Same-sex marriage OK
   Santa Fe New Mexican: 19 March 2013 – Santa Fe leaders ask county clerks to honor same-sex marriage
   
   
2. ProgressNow New Mexico – Facebook page post and email blast
   
   
3. Albuquerque Journal: 20 December 2012 – Assault Weapons Ban?, 14 January 2013 – Coss Headlines Santa Fe Gun Control Press Conference
   
   
4. http://facebook.com/progressnownm/posts/488185797897738
   http://facebook.com/progressnownm/posts/488015187914799
   http://facebook.com/progressnownm/posts/487840961265555
   http://facebook.com/progressnownm/posts/487719194611065
   http://facebook.com/progressnownm/posts/487713881278263
   http://facebook.com/progressnownm/posts/526701757382247
   http://progressnownewmexico.pnstate.org/site/MessageViewer?em_id=81426.0
   http://facebook.com/progressnownm/posts/487208071328844
   http://facebook.com/progressnownm/posts/487207284662256
   
   
5. Original article
   
   
6. Links to this post
   
   
7. Reposted –
   
   
   1. Personal blogs – Wordpress / Yahoo!
      
      
   2. The Weekly Sedition – WordPress / Yahoo!
      
      
   3. Duke City Fix

---

Copyright © 2013 Libertarian Party of New Mexico and Mike Blessing. All rights reserved.
Produced by KCUF Media, a division of Extropy Enterprises.
This blog entry created with Notepad++.

Related articles

• Clerks urged to allow same-sex marriage (krqe.com)
   
• Santa Fe Mayor Says Gay Marriage Legal in New Mexico, Encourages County Clerks to Issue Licenses (towleroad.com)
   
• Marriage Equality Already the Law in New Mexico, Santa Fe Officials Say (advocate.com)
   
• Marriage equality to be recognized in Santa Fe, New Mexico (dailykos.com)
   
• Santa Fe's city attorney: Same-sex marriage is legal in New Mexico (rawstory.com)
   
• LPNM Press Release - HB402 "Assault Weapon" Ban Tabled (weeklysedition.wordpress.com)
   
• LPBC Press Release about BCSO "Buy-back" Events (weeklysedition.wordpress.com)

"No Holds Barred" by Sir Mix-A-Lot

"The police, urge people, to keep their guns locked up and unloaded"
"Congress today, seems on the verge of approving gun control"

[Verse One: Sir Mix-A-Lot]
It's, time to fight back cause the new jack black macks
ain't did SHIT about that, whack, jackin
And I'm packin
Cause I'm down for the bank I'm stackin
And in a straight up brawl I'll mall alla y'all
Ya try to crawl for Tylenol and I install
big fists in your face, the blow is well placed
Spray 'em with mace in case mace is his taste
Throw up the dogs, the competition is fogged
Cause he was smokin the yang, iced and drink the 8-ball
Drunk, stumblin, threw him with the lean
I sweep him, then attack the spleen
Play the congas on his backbone
He's funk baritone until I twisted his dome
Creep up on my house and try to roll me up?
And got STUCK IN THE GUT with a black, Glock
And he starts to wobble
Self-defense is what I'm claimin', let's squabble
I pick up a pipe to take plenty of quick swipes
One grazed his dome and sliced his eye whites
I don't give a DAMN bout a stupid ass burgular
It's all circular
The dope dealer sells dope to the dope smoker
The smoker breaks in and tries to choke ya
But I ain't the one to run from ya son
This is MY HOUSE, and it's FULLA GUNS!
I'm down for mine and my choke is nice and hard
When you jack the boss there ain't no holds barred!

No holds barred
No holds barred
No holds barred

[Verse Two: Sir Mix-A-Lot]
I'm crushin most hoods like katydids
I'm pleadin guilty for the damage I did
This ain't about random violence
The (?) crept into my house, FUCK SILENCE
Now most punks wanna run for the stun gun
Fuck a stun gun, I got the big one
Forty-four mag, automatic, CHROME
Mercury-tipped bullets, melt the dome
It's the 1990's, and crack is
talkin to the criminals, ever so subliminal
Some crackhead wants Mix-A-Lot dead
A jack move instead, another fool bled
I can't cry cause my tears are nearly froze
My interior's cold, it posess my soul
I'm on the paranoid tip
And each of my socks got a clip!
When my house got robbed, a top notch job
Cops laughed while my mom just sobbed
9-1-1 only works for the rich ones
So I collect GUNS!
So step right through if you're down for the wrong move
Most crews are moved by my twelve gauge BOOM!
How can I love when I gotta
protect my neck from a punk suspect?
Gun control – I ain't wit it
They banned the AK and any fool can STILL get it
The innocent have been beaten, bruised and scarred
But for this citizen, there ain't no holds barred

"It is an absolute infringement on my second amendment rights"
No holds barred
"When is this attack on gun owners going to end?"
No holds barred
"Education, versus restriction"

[Verse Three: Sir Mix-A-Lot]
Hypothetical situation
Gun control starts sweepin the nation
Now you got a bunch of unarmed innocent victims
Gettin FUCKED by the system
Sittin at home with a butter knife, huh
Any fool could rape your wife
So what's up when the criminals can't be stopped?
The only one with guns are the COPS
But it's hard for a brother to trust police
Huh, so the shit don't cease
So I go downtown to buy a hot gun
I hated criminals, and now I'm one
Because I bought a gat to protect my house
The cops wanna bust me out?
So it's illegal to protect yourself?
Hell, you either get killed, or you in jail
So when you vote
You better think about what I just wrote
And FUCK writin a note to yo' Congressman!
You got the fool hired
Now help get the fool fired
A scary scenario
And I put it in your stereo
So when a fool tries to run up on my car
R.I.P., no holds barred

No holds barred

No holds barred

"They take aim, at the law abiding citizen, instead of the criminal"
[*applause*]

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Sundown at Coffin Rock
by Raymond K. Paden

The old man walked slowly through the dry, fallen leaves of autumn, his practiced eye automatically choosing the bare and stony places in the trail for his feet. There was scarcely a sound as he passed, though his left knee was stiff with scar tissue. He grunted occasionally as the tight sinews pulled. Damn chainsaw, he thought.

Behind him, the boy shuffled along, trying to imitate his grandfather, but unable to mimic the silent motion that the old man had learned during countless winter days upon this wooded mountain in pursuit of game. He's fifteen years old, the old man thought. Plenty old enough to be learning. But that was another time, another America. His mind drifted, and he saw himself, a fifteen-year-old boy following in the footsteps of his own grandfather, clutching a twelve gauge in his trembling hands as they tracked a wounded whitetail.

The leg was hurting worse now, and he slowed his pace a bit. Plenty of time. It should have been my own son here with me now, the old man thought sadly. But Jason had no interest, no understanding. He cared for nothing but pounding on the keys of that damned computer terminal. He knew nothing about the woods, or where food came from . . . or freedom. And that's my fault, isn't it?

The old man stopped and held up his hand, motioning for the boy to look. In the small clearing ahead, the deer stood motionless, watching them. It was a scraggly buck, underfed and sickly, but the boy's eyes lit up with excitement. It had been many years since they had seen even a single whitetail here on the mountain. After the hunting had stopped, the population had exploded. The deer had eaten the mountain almost bare until erosion had become a serious problem in some places. That following winter, three starving does had wandered into the old man's yard, trying to eat the bark off of his pecan trees, and he had wished the "animal rights" fanatics could have been there then. It was against the law, but old man knew a higher law, and he took an axe into the yard and killed the starving beasts. They did not have the strength to run.

The buck finally turned and loped away, and they continued down the trail to the river. When they came to the "Big Oak," the old man turned and pushed through the heavy brush beside the trail and the boy followed, wordlessly. The old man knew that Thomas was curious about their leaving the trail, but the boy had learned to move silently (well, almost) and that meant no talking. When they came to "Coffin Rock," the old man sat down upon it and motioned for the boy to join him.

"You see this rock, shaped like a casket?" the old man asked. "Yes sir." The old man smiled. The boy was respectful and polite. He loved the outdoors, too. Everything a man could ask in a grandson . . . . or a son.

"I want you to remember this place, and what I'm about to tell you. A lot of it isn't going to make any sense to you, but it's important and one day you'll understand it well enough. The old man paused. Now that he was here, he didn't really know where to start.

"Before you were born," he began at last, "this country was different. I've told you about hunting, about how everybody who obeyed the law could own guns. A man could speak out, anywhere, without worrying about whether he'd get back home or not. School was different, too. A man could send his kids to a church school, or a private school, or even teach them at home. But even in the public schools, they didn't spend all their time trying to brainwash you like they do at yours now." The old man paused, and was silent for many minutes. The boy was still, watching a chipmunk scavenging beside a fallen tree below them.

"Things don't ever happen all at once, boy. They just sort of sneak up on you. Sure, we knew guns were important; we just didn't think it would ever happen in America. But we had to do something about crime, they said. It was a crisis. Everything was a crisis! It was a drug crisis, or a terrorism crisis, or street crime, or gang crime. Even a 'health care' crisis was an excuse to take away a little more of our rights." The old man turned to look at his grandson.

"They ever let you read a thing called the Constitution down there at your school?" The boy solemnly shook his head. "Well, the Fourth Amendment's still in there. It says there won't be any unreasonable searches and seizures. It says you're safe in your own home." The old man shrugged. "That had to go. It was a crisis! They could kick your door open any time, day or night, and come in with guns blazing if they thought you had drugs . . . or later, guns. Oh, at first it was just registration – to keep the guns out of the hands of criminals! But that didn't work, of course, and then later when they wanted to take 'em they knew where to look. They banned 'assault rifles', and then 'sniper rifles', and 'Saturday night specials.' Everything you saw on the TV or in the movies was against us. God knows the news people were! And the schools were teaching our kids that nobody needed guns anymore. We tried to take a stand, but we felt like the whole face of our country had changed and we were left outside."

"Me and a friend of mine, when we saw what was happening, we came and built a secret place up here on the mountain. A place where we could put our guns until we needed them. We figured some day Americans would remember what it was like to be free, and what kind of price we had to pay for that freedom. So we hid our guns instead of losing them."

"One fellow I knew disagreed. He said we ought to use our guns now and stand up to the government. Said that the colonists had fought for their freedom when the British tried to disarm them at Lexington and Concord. Well, he and a lot of others died in what your history books call the 'Tax Revolt of 1998,' but son, it wasn't the revolt that caused the repeal of the Second Amendment like your history book says. The Second Amendment was already gone long before they ever repealed it. The rest of us thought we were doing the right thing by waiting. I hope to God we were right."

"You see, Thomas. It isn't government that makes a man free. In the end, governments always do just the opposite. They gobble up freedom like hungry pigs. You have to have laws to keep the worst in men under control, but at the same time the people have to have guns, too, in order to keep the government itself under control. In our country, the people were supposed to be the final authority of the law, but that was a long time ago. Once the guns were gone, there was no reason for those who run the government to give a damn about laws and constitutional rights and such. They just did what they pleased and anyone who spoke out . . . well, I'm getting ahead of myself."

"It took a long time to collect up all the millions of firearms that were in private hands. The government created a whole new agency to see to it. There were rewards for turning your friends in, too. Drug dealers and murderers were set free after two or three years in prison, but possession of a gun would get you mandatory life behind bars with no parole.

"I don't know how they found out about me, probably knew I'd been a hunter all those years, or maybe somebody turned me in. They picked me up on suspicion and took me down to the federal building."

"Son, those guys did everything they could think of to me. Kept me locked up in this little room for hours, no food, no water. They kept coming in, asking me where the guns were. 'What guns?' I said. Whenever I'd doze off, they'd come crashing in, yelling and hollering. I got to where I didn't know which end was up. I'd say I wanted my lawyer and they'd laugh. 'Lawyers are for criminals', they said. 'You'll get a lawyer after we get the guns.' What's so funny is, I know they thought they were doing the right thing. They were fighting crime!"

"When I got home I found Ruth sitting in the middle of the living room floor, crying her eyes out. The house was a shambles. While I was down there, they'd come out and took our house apart. Didn't need a search warrant, they said. National emergency! Gun crisis! Your grandma tried to call our preacher and they ripped the phone off the wall. Told her that they'd go easy on me if she just told them where I kept my guns." The old man laughed. "She told them to go to hell." He stared into the distance for a moment as his laughter faded.

"They wouldn't tell her about me, where I was or anything, that whole time. She said that she'd thought I was dead. She never got over that day, and she died the next December."

"They've been watching me ever since, off and on. I guess there's not much for them to do anymore, now that all the guns are gone. Plenty of time to watch one foolish old man." He paused. Beside him, the boy stared at the stone beneath his feet.

"Anyway, I figure that, one day, America will come to her senses. Our men will need those guns and they'll be ready. We cleaned them and sealed them up good; they'll last for years. Maybe it won't be in your lifetime, Thomas. Maybe one day you'll be sitting here with your son or grandson. Tell him about me, boy. Tell him about the way I said America used to be." The old man stood, his bad leg shaking unsteadily beneath him.

"You see the way this stone points? You follow that line one hundred feet down the hill and you'll find a big round rock. It looks like it's buried solid, but one man with a good prybar can lift it, and there's a concrete tunnel right under there that goes back into the hill."

The old man stood, watching as the sun eased toward the ridge, coloring the sky and the world red. Below them, the river still splashed among the stones, as it had for a million years. It's still going, the old man thought. There'll be someone left to carry on for me when I'm gone. It was harder to walk back. He felt old and purposeless now, and it would be easier, he knew, to give in to that aching heaviness in his left lung that had begun to trouble him more and more. Damn cigarettes, he thought. His leg hurt, and the boy silently came up beside him and supported him as they started down the last mile toward the house. How quiet he walks, the old man thought. He's learned well.

It was almost dark when the boy walked in. His father looked up from his paper. "Did you and your granddad have a nice walk?"

"Yes," the boy answered, opening the refrigerator. "You can call Agent Goodwin tomorrow. Gramps finally showed me where it is."

 

Editor's note: "Sundown at Coffin Rock" is a work of fiction. Any similarity to actual events or to actual people, living or dead, remains to be seen. – Mark Pixler

---

This article was originally posted to the Internet by "Annonymous"

This story originally appeared in "The Blue Press" (a catalog / magazine put out by Dillon Precision Products, Inc., 7442 Butherus Drive, Scottsdale, AZ 85260, phone 602-948-8009.) The editor, Mark Pixler, was kind enough to allow distribution on the Internet.

This story may be reprinted as long as due credit is given to the author and publisher.

World-Wide-Web html format by

Scott Ostrander: scotto@cica.indiana.edu

---

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This blog entry created with Notepad++.

CITY OVERSTEPS BOUNDS IN ATTEMPTING MINIMUM WAGE ENFORCEMENT

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE (3/1/13)
Contact: Mike Blessing, State Chair
Alternate: Elizabeth Hanes, Press Secretary

[ALBUQUERQUE] – The Libertarian Party of New Mexico (LPNM) strongly condemns the decision by Albuquerque Mayor Richard J. Berry and City Attorney David Tourek to pursue legal action against Route 66 Malt Shop regarding wages allegedly not paid to an employee under Albuquerque's minimum wage law.

"It's not the city's job to enforce wage and hour law," said LPNM State Chair Mike Blessing. "This responsibility falls to the New Mexico Department of Workforce Solutions. In fact, the DWS website provides clear guidelines on how to file a claim. Why isn't the city attorney directing the complaining employee to these proper resources?"

In various statements made to the media, Tourek has claimed the city flip-flopped on the issue of representing former employee Kevin O'Leary in an action against Route 66 Malt Shop because "no one was coming forward to help him." Tourek had previously stated the city should not intervene in the dispute and that O'Leary's only recourse was to "hire a private attorney."

"The assertion that O'Leary – or any employee – with a wage and hour claim needs to 'hire a private attorney' in order to resolve the issue is patently false," Blessing said. "First of all, the DWS provides a wage claim procedure specifically available to 'any employee who cannot afford an attorney, and has not been paid his/her earned wages.'^[i] Not only does DWS spell out on its website the exact procedure to be followed to make a wage claim, it provides a specific form for Albuquerque employees^[ii]. Furthermore, any claimant can represent him– or herself pro se in an action against the employer in Metropolitan Court."

Tourek claims the city's decision to represent O'Leary is "an exception."

"We can only ask ourselves why O'Leary should receive assistance from the powerful resources of the City Attorney's office when so many other Albuquerque employees are denied such assistance," Blessing said. "The bottom line is the city has no business intervening in a wage dispute, period, let alone doing so selectively – presumably based on the high-profile nature of the case."

The LPNM opposes any mandatory minimum wage law as being contrary to the principles of free market economics.

-30-

ABOUT THE LIBERTARIAN PARTY OF NEW MEXICO

Established in 1971, 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.

[i] http://www.dws.state.nm.us/Mobile/Business/Resources/WageClaimProcedures

[ii] http://www.dws.state.nm.us/Portals/0/DM/Business/Wage_Claim_Albuquerque.pdf

---

NOTES

1. Original article
   
   

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Copyright © 2013 Libertarian Party of New Mexico and Libertarian Party of Bernalillo County, New Mexico
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So much for Fox News being the infallible news source that GOP Coggies portray it as being.

Here we've got them reporting that "Russian jets circled US territory of Guam" –

Original article here

The article says that:

The Air Force confirms that two Russian bombers on Tuesday circled the U.S. island territory of Guam, prompting U.S. jets to scramble and respond.

Two U.S. Air Force F-15 fighter aircraft, operating out of Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, intercepted the Russian Tu-95 bomber aircraft, which left in a northbound direction, said military spokeswoman Capt. Kim Bender.

Except there's one mistake – one that Fox News' proofreaders and editors should have caught:

The article title says Guam was buzzed by "Russian jets," yet the Tu-95 Bear uses turboprop engines – the spinning props are plainly visible in the picture above.

Thanks to "Laughing_Wolf" at Blackfive.net for the tip-off!

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Copyright © 2013 Mike Blessing. All rights reserved.
Produced by KCUF Media, a division of Extropy Enterprises.
This blog entry created with Notepad++.

-------- Original Message --------
Subject: Responding to the BCSO "Buy-Back"
Date: Wed, 20 Feb 2013 00:19:37
From: Mike Blessing
To: Tom Zdunek, Debbie O'Malley, Art De La Cruz, Maggie Hart Stebbins, Lonnie C. Talbert, Wayne A. Johnson, Dan Houston

Dear Commissioners, Mr. Zdunek:

Recently I was surfing the web and found the following:

BernCo Compass: Gun Buybacks, Strip Club Rules and Downtown Housing

Here's the pertinent part:

Issue: Gun Buyback

The county conducted its first gun buyback day on Saturday, Feb. 9, in the North Valley. People who anonymously surrendered their firearms were compensated – no questions asked. If the weapons were stolen, they were to be returned to their rightful owners. Deputy County Manager Tom Swisstack said the program brought in 333 weapons, seven of which were assault rifles. The $50,000 put up by the county for purchasing the guns ran out within two hours.

Swisstack added that it’s the most successful buyback day in the state so far. He thanked Sheriff Dan Houston for doing an outstanding job, and Commissioner Debbie O’Malley for moving the program forward.

BernCo View

O’Malley thanked everyone for the compliments but said when she got to the North Valley Command Center on Saturday, she was surrounded by other gun traders in the parking lot. They waited outside harassing folks, she said, telling them they would buy the guns for more than the county was paying. She said she was surprised people could do that kind of gun trading in a parking lot without permits.

Swisstack assured that next time, the sheriff would block off the area around the substation. The next buyback day is Saturday, Feb. 23, at the South Area Command Center (2039 Isleta SW).

First, this wasn't a buy-back event at all – the word "buy-back" assumes that you originally owned them and are buying them back, when the truth is that the firearms purchased by BCSO weren't owned by Bernalillo County in the first place.

Second, this event was advertised and reported upon as some sort of "public service," in order to "get the guns off the streets." This is code-speak from the victim disarmament crowd for getting firearms away from private citizens, whom as "we all know," "can't be trusted" with any weapon more powerful than a plastic straw loaded with spitballs.

Third, the ONLY good thing about these "buy-back" events is that BCSO is apparently to return any firearms found to have been stolen back to their rightful owners.

Fourth, considering Tom Swisstack's anti-Constitutional comments of " . . . next time, the sheriff would block off the area around the substation," perhaps it's time that Bernalillo County picked out a new Deputy County Manager. As well as a new Sheriff if Dan Houston goes along with this.

It seems that I have until 1 May 2014 to gather sufficient signatures to recall Mr. Houston, and 1 May 2016 to do the same for Ms. O'Malley.

_______________________________________________________________________
Mike Blessing / Phone – 505-249-1248
State Chair, Libertarian Party of New Mexico – http://lpnm.us

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 © 2013 Libertarian Party of New Mexico, Libertarian Party of Bernalillo County, New Mexico and Mike Blessing. All rights reserved.
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"From My Cold, Dead Hands" – A Cowards Call
The gun grabbers won't grab, but you'll still hand them over.
by Jim Object

 

"Molon Labe!" Roughly translates to 'come take them' or 'come and get them.' These are the supposed words of the Spartan King Leonidas when the Persian Emperor Xerxes demanded he lay down arms and surrender at Thermopylae.

In the wake of the movie "300," this has become the alternate war cry of the NRA rank and file as well as many other gun enthusiasts. Alternate to, "You can have my guns when you take them from my cold, dead hands," of course.

Nightmare scenarios are imagined wherein the entire gun-owing population is subject to armed door-to-door gun searches and confiscation by the National Guard, ATF, or some other law enforcement agency. When these fears are expressed online, you'll almost invariably see a link to the video of the National Guard doing just such a thing in the run-up to Hurricane Katrina.

That is never going to happen. The federal government will never do such a thing. They don't have to. Because gun-owners are largely law abiding cowards.

Gun owners worship a false god called the Second Amendment to the Constitution of the United States of America. They claim that this text enumerates, defines, grants, and protects their right to keep and bear arms.

The Second Amendment doesn't grant anything. No law does. My 'right' to keep and bear arms begins and ends at my willingness to keep and bear arms, period. No document or government grants me this, or any other right.

Gun owners are the first to tell you government cant be trusted, and must be put in check. They're also the flag-wavingest 'patriots' around. This is a contradiction that cannot be resolved. "I love my country, I fear my government" is no more than a platitude. You love your government. Especially when it makes laws you like that compel other people to live the way you think is best. Your drug laws, sexuality laws, prostitution laws, etc. – those are all precedent setting examples of you giving too much authority to your beloved government.

It is by the inverse of the same philosophy that they will come for you.

People in fear of a gun grab are looking at the wrong boogeyman. Feds are not going to park a Bradley at the end of your street and go door to door. They know where your guns are. They know because you told them. When you bought the gun, you registered it. When you got a concealed carry permit, you registered them. When you filled out your range application, bought guns, ammo, or accessories on a credit card, or joined the NRA, you registered your guns. You might not think you registered them, but you did.

They know who and where you are.

They're still not going to come for your guns. Not yet, at least. They're going to demand that you re-register, this time in a more detailed and complete way. If you refuse, they are not coming to your house. They are going to fine you. If you fight the fine in court, or don't pay it, they're still not coming to your house. They're going to garnish your wages, garnish your tax returns, put a lien on your house, refuse to renew your drivers licence, and disallow you from renewing any sort of occupational licences you might hold.

You will register your weapons in the face of this economic pressure.

Later, they will ban most, but not all of the weapons. They will use these same economic techniques to get you to bring them in. They will allow you to save face by taking your guns in the form of a buyback. They'll pay you for the guns. Hell, the might even pay you handsomely.

You will comply.

For those who don't comply, they will start to enact other pressures and start jailing people for failure to pay the increasingly huge fines. Nobody will ever be jailed for refusing to turn over the guns. No. Jail-time will come in the form of convictions for fine defiance, or failure to appear for hearings related to the fines.

You will comply.

They will then offer plea bargains for information leading them illegal weapons. People will rat you out. The NRA will turn over all of your addresses, day 1. You'll deny you have the guns, and they will say, "We don't believe you." Many people who already turned in their guns will be subject to the catch-22 of being called a liar with nothing left to turn in. They'll have to find and buy guns from family, friends, or the black market – just to turn them in and stay out of jail.

Your range buddy, former platoon mate, or your cousin will turn you over in exchange for debt forgiveness on the five-figure levies hanging over their head. You might turn around and do the same to the next guy. I bet you will.

You will comply.

When everyone is sitting around with .22s and 20g side-by-sides to the exclusion of all other weapons – they might start coming for the guns. Most people will turn them over in exchange for a plea deal. By this time, your guns will be felonies, and you don't want to go to prison and lose everything, do you? If you force it, they might just bring huge force to bear, you will look at it, see the hopelessness of your situation, and you will comply.

Your local police force has a Bearcat street-tank and military grade personal equipment. If they show up at your house, you will come out with your hands up.

You will comply.

Around this time, there will be another Waco. Then another. Then another. And it will be a Waco, very definitively. They're going to go after some group or person whose lifestyle is abnormal or uncommon. They will kill them. They're going to refer to them as domestic terrorists and extremist radicals. They'll vilify these weirdos, and people will support the disarmament. When the kooks, racists, and religious whackos fight back, the game is over.

Every subsequent decent holdout will be painted as a terrorist, whacko, racist, or religious extremist. After the first two or three standoffs or shootouts, people wont even pay attention anymore. The news won't cover it anymore.

My guess is that 99% of gun owners won't make it to the 'come and get them stage,' and most of those who do – will be killed.

You complied with government all the way to this point. You will continue to do so. You sit defiantly and say, "Not me. I know what you mean, but I won't be one of those cowards." I believe that you believe that. But when it happens, when it's real, we'll see what you're made of.

I will not comply.

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Yeah, that's the correct title for this posting.

It appears that MSN (dare I say "MSNBC" here?) might be taking seriously the traditional role of Fourth Estate:

OK, there's every reason to be skeptical that this will be a recurring event – MSN questioning "Our Betters" of the Congress.

Still, it's better than nothing.

Here's a link to the actual article.

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NOTES

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

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Copyright © 2013 Mike Blessing. All rights reserved.
Produced by KCUF Media, a division of Extropy Enterprises.
This blog entry created with Notepad++.