As a libertarian, I oppose all forms of taxation. As the old saw in Libertarian Party ranks goes, "Taxation is theft."

Think about it -- a thug corners you in a dark alley, pulls a knife on you and tells you to hand over your wallet, threatening to cut you up if you refuse the "request."

Most people would say that such behavior on the part of the thug is bad, and should be punished.

But when the IRS or Department of Taxation and Revenue tells you that if you don't file a return and pay up, they'll garnish your wages, clean out your bank accounts, place liens on your house and car, for starters. If that doesn't convince you to comply, they'll have the Sheriff's Department surround your house with a SWAT team, possibly ending with you being killed.

But that's all right, as "we" need roads, schools, police, Drug Prohibition, among other things. And anything that "we" do to get the cash to pay for these "goodies" is OK, right?

NO, it's NOT all right. Government needs to find a way to finance itself that doesn't hurt people who haven't harmed others. Period.

Relevant Links -- The UN-Fair "Fair Tax"

It's come to my attention that some LPers and Libertarians are proposing various alternative tax schemes which institute a national sales tax, including the so-called "fair" tax.

Naturally, such proposals do absolutely nothing to limit the scope, size, and expense of government, such proposals, especially the "fair" tax, have features that are distinctly un-libertarian --

The "rebate" feature of the "Fair Tax" is onerous enough, as in order to provide the promised monthly check to millions of people, a MASSIVE federal bureaucracy would be required.

The "revenue neutrality" aspect is even worse -- this is the idea that the Powers That Be in Washington DC wouldn't have to cut spending, as the "Fair Tax" would bring in enough Federal Reserve Notes to keep the existing welfare, regulatory and police state afloat.

As if libertarians should care about keeping the system going like this.

Therefore, as a candidate, I remain on record as opposing any national sales tax scheme, and especially the "fair" tax. I would hope that everyone else in the Libertarian Party, would come to the same conclusion.

The Non-Aggression Principle is where I start out -- no human being has the right -- under any circumstances -- to initiate force against another human being, nor to threaten, incite or delegate its initiation. See the Philosophy page on the main LPNM site for more details about what it means.

After that, I look to the Constitutions of the United States and State of New Mexico -- if a proposed statute isn't Constitutional, then the only correct course of action is to vote "NO."

See also the federal and state Bills of Rights. These Bills of Rights aren't a list of rights granted to the citizenry by the state, they're lists of rights that the citizens of New Mexico have as a condition of being alive and self-aware. The federal and state governments pledged to protect those rights from infringement by passing those Bills of Rights -- see L. Neil Smith's Bill of Rights Enforcement page.

Most legislation at the state and federal level doesn't pass those two tests. For the bills that do, rare as they are, I ask if the bill will raise taxes or increase the regulatory burden on the private sector. Like it or not, the private sector is what drives society's economic growth. All the public sector does is take -- it doesn't actually produce anything on its own.

Who is a libertarian?

A libertarian is someone who believes that no human being has the right - under any circumstances - to initiate force against another human being, nor to threaten, incite or delegate its initiation.

This idea is referred to as the Non-Aggression Principle [NAP] or the Zero Aggression Principle [ZAP]. See the Philosophy page on the main LPNM site for more details about what it means.

Aren't you a pacifist, then?

Not necessarily. While there are some pacifists that also qualify as libertarians, many more of us have no problem using defensive or retaliatory force against an aggressor. Some of our detractors are particularly upset about our support for the right to own and carry weapons, as guaranteed by the Second Amendment.

What is required to be a Libertarian Party member?

1. Adherence to the NAP or ZAP, whichever term you prefer, as specified above (first, be a libertarian before you become a Libertarian).
2. Intelligence
3. Integrity
4. A sense of humor.

For Affiliate members, simply register to vote as Libertarian. Caucus members take it a step further by signing the Non-Aggression Pledge and donating 25 bucks a year to the LPNM, or getting active in promoting the libertarian message. See the sign-up page for the full details.

What is the Libertarian Party?

The Libertarian Party (or LP) was established in December, 1971, as a way to bring libertarian ideas to the political scene by running candidates against other parties' offerings.

How do I register to vote?

Simple -- click here and scroll down until you find "How do I register to vote in New Mexico?" Follow the directions there and either mail in the form (it's pre-addressed to the Secretary of State's Office with pre-paid postage) or take it to the County Clerk's Office at One Civic Plaza in Albuquerque.

Or download and print the National Voter Registration Form, fill it out and send it in to the address listed under "New Mexico" in the "State Instructions" section.

What precinct am I in?

If you don't know what voting precinct you're in, simply go to the Bernalillo County website's GIS section, click on "Political Map" and type in your address -- the software will show you a map with the information you need.

How do I get involved?

For one, follow some of the ideas listed in "Getting Started" as a way to get started.

QUESTIONNAIRES / SURVEYS
State Senate Candidate Primary Survey

NAME -- Mike Blessing

POLITICAL PARTY -- Libertarian

PLACE OF RESIDENCE -- Ladera Heights in Albuquerque

AGE -- 37

EDUCATION -- See here for the details

OCCUPATION -- Various over the years

FAMILY -- Mother, Nancy; brother, Bill

POLITICAL / GOVERNMENT EXPERIENCE -- See here for the details.

MAJOR PROFESSIONAL ACCOMPLISHMENT -- Ten years as Chair of the Bernalillo County Libertarian Party, five years as the editor of New Mexico Liberty

MAJOR PERSONAL ACCOMPLISHMENT -- Graduating from Ft. Benning OSUT (Basic Combat Training and Infantry Advanced Individual Training) in August 1991.

1. What issues would you like to work on most as a member of the Legislature?

A. Citizen-initiated referendums ("initiatives")

B. Recall of elected officials at the state and county level

C. Tax cuts, spending cuts, repeal of regulations, especially against businesses and consenting adults.

2. Would you support or oppose a state law creating domestic partnerships that would give heterosexual and homosexual couples the same rights and benefits as married couples?

I don't see any reason why the State (or federal, or local) government should have any say in what defines a marriage, domestic partnership, or anything else between consenting adults, regardless of the genders of the adults involved.

That being said, until people in government finally wake up and realize that this is an issue that they as public servants have NO legitimate role in defining or regulating, I would support putting heterosexual and homosexual couples on an equal legal footing as married heterosexual couples.

3. Would you support or oppose giving the State Engineer authority over drilling deep wells for brackish water?

The ONLY reason to support such an expansion of State authority is to facilitate the deregulation of the drilling process.

4. Would you support or oppose opening conference committee hearings to the public?

Of course. They never should have been closed to the public in the first place.

5. Would you support or oppose civil penalties for government officials who violate the New Mexico Inspection of Public Records Act?

I would prefer criminal penalties, but I'll settle for civil penalties, provided that the offending official is immediately expelled from office after being proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

6. How can state government expand health care coverage to uninsured New Mexicans and still adequately fund Medicaid?

Is this even possible?! State, federal and local government can't contain costs as things are at present -- where will they gain the ability to do this after this additional burden is thrown into the ring?

Why not give everyone in the state a taxpayer-paid, brand-spanking-new Hummer to boot (MUST have ALL the options!), as well as gas and paid maintenance and repairs for the vehicle's lifetime? After all, there's no limit to how much we [the State Legislature] can spend, right?

7. Would you support or oppose creation of an independent state ethics commission to oversee the conduct of elected officials, including legislators?

I would support such a board being created, but given that its expenses and costs would be paid from the State Treasury, I question exactly how independent it will actually be from the elected officials it's supposed to oversee.

8. What does New Mexico need to do to see significant improvement in student test scores and graduation rates?

A. Repeal Article XII, Section 1 of the State Constitution, then send each kid home to their parents with a bill for the cost of that kid's education. Installment plans should be made available for people in the low income brackets.

B. Repeal the Compulsory School Attendance Law [NMSA Chapter 22, Article 12], especially any regulatory restrictions levied against parents who home-school their children.

9. What should New Mexico do to deal with the problem of repeat DWI offenders?

A. Quit re-electing the DWI convicts who are elected officials.

B. Any state or local government employee convicted of DWI should be fired immediately after conviction, and barred from working in any New Mexico government agency from that point on.

C. Require "DWI CONVICT" bumperstickers for all DWI convicts to be posted on the front and back bumpers of the convict's vehicle.

10. Have you or your business, if you are a business owner, ever been the subject of any state or federal tax liens? No.

11. Have you ever been involved in a personal or business bankruptcy proceeding? No.

12. Have you ever been arrested for, charged with, or convicted of drunken driving, any misdemeanor or any felony in New Mexico or any other state?

A. No DWIs -- do I really need to have one to be qualified for the State Legislature?

B. Other misdemeanors -- I was charged with carrying an unlicensed concealed weapon on 7 July 2004, but the case was dismissed.

Here's a listing of the campaign's events. I'll post about each in detail (as separate blog entries) and link to them here.

Election Day -- 4 November 2008

I also intend to make use of Myspace's calendar and events features.

Election Day -- this is the day where we find out if this campaign was worth it. I want to thank all of my supporters and voters in advance for everything that they've done on my behalf.

I first joined the Libertarian Party in January, 1994 as a refugee from the Republican Party. I was living in the suburbs of Philadelphia,  Pennsylvania at the time, but it wasn't til a few months after I moved to New Mexico (July, 1994) that I became active in the Libertarian Party of New Mexico [LPNM].

Since then, I've been the State Vice-Chair, State Secretary, District 1 Representative on the State Central Committee, and Member-At-Large on the State Central Committee. Since December, 1998, I've held the post of Chair of the Bernalillo County Libertarian Party.

Since July, 2003, I've been the editor and publisher of New Mexico Liberty, the official newsletter of the Libertarian Party of New Mexico.

I've operated with other groups with shared interests in the local arena and at the state level -- New Mexico Gun Owners, Wake-Up America, Hemp TV, NM NORML, and most recently, the local affiliate for the Ron Paul Revolution, for example.

I've had some letters to the editor published in the Albuquerque Journal, the Albuquerque Tribune, UNM's Daily Lobo, Crosswinds Weekly and the Weekly Alibi, in addition to being a cable-access TV personality since July, 1995 (see New Mexico's Consumer Advocate and The Weekly Sedition).

Here's my page for things you can use, either stuff that I've created or by other people, that's available as freeware, public domain, or made available by the creators.

Open Office -- Does all that Microsoft Office does, only without costing you hundreds of bucks a copy

Hi! I'm available to answer your questions (I'll also repost them elsewhere on this site), surveys and speaking requests.

Email -- mikewbnmh16@gmail.com

Phone -- 505-918-6567

There is something of a schism in libertarian ranks over the issue of abortion.

Some believe that human life begins at conception, and thus abortion should be outlawed. They have a website called Libertarians For Life. Others believe that life begins at birth, and therefore abortion should remain legal. See this site for more.

Either way, government should NOT get involved. How can the prosecutor prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the woman's pregnancy wasn't a miscarriage and not a deliberate termination?

On top of that aspect, making something illegal doesn't stop it from happening. Murder, rape, robbery, assault and battery, vandalism, theft, kidnapping are all illegal, yet they still happen.

Name ten (10) EXISTING regulatory statutes or spending items that you're willing to do away with before the next election, even at the cost of losing that next election.

Name ten (10) aspects of your life that are completely unregulated by local, state or federal government.

The Unanimous Consent Challenge

I'll be waiting for answers . . .