new mexico liberty, september 2005

8/8/2019 New Mexico Liberty, September 2005

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/new-mexico-liberty-september-2005 1/10

TABLE OF CONTENTS

• Calendar • Pork – The Alternative Fuel

Page 2• Field Reports• Central Committee Notes

Page 3 – Voice of the Chair

Page 4• Liberty is On The Air • Chaves County Rifle Raffle• Executive Committee Notes• Deep Pockets

Page 5• San Juan County Fair • Strategic Planning Retreat Summary• Seeing Gnomes

Page 6 – Farmington's Darkest Hour

Page 7• LP-SJC-NM Resolution in Support of

Civil Liberties with Regard to theJuan Mata Case

• [SouthwestRegionLNC] New FederalCase on Petitioning

Page 8 – Contacts / Internet Resources

Page 9Debit / Credit Account Donations

Page 10• NM Liberty Admin Notes• LPNM Enrollment / Renewal

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Let the other guy offer compromises.Think of them as rungs on a ladder.Keep your own goals fixed firmly in your mind and make sure you never moveany direction but upward. That's how theother side got where they are. It works.

– L. Neil Smith, Tactical Reflections www.lneilsmith.com/tactical.html

CALENDAR

See g roups.myspace.com/lpnm for details, updates, etc.

Sunday, 11 September – Central Committee meeting – Roper's inAlbuquerque – Wyoming & Central – Lunch 12PM, Meeting 1 PM

REGULAR EVENTS

Wednesday, 7 September. – Bernalillo County Liberty Forum meets inAlbuquerque, 5:30 to 7:00 PM at Fiesta's Restaurant & Lounge (Carlisle &Montogomery NE). Contact Mike Blessing, 505-453-4532, for details.

Saturday, 10 September – San Juan County LP meeting. Contact BobZiesmer, 505-327-6681 for details.

Friday, 16 September – Chaves County meets 6:30 PM. Contact D. Glenn505-625-0175, for details.

Wednesday, 21 September – Bernalillo County Liberty Forum meets inAlbuquerque, 5:30 to 7:00 PM at Fiesta's Restaurant & Lounge (Carlisle &Montogomery NE). Contact Mike Blessing, 505-453-4532, for details.

Monday, 26 September – August Meetup at J.B's on Eubank just north of I-40Contact Jay Vandersloot, 505-362-1733, for details.

Wednesday, 28 September. – Sandoval County meets at JB’s restaurant on528 near Intel. Contact Ron Bjornstad, 505-891-4541, for details.

TV Shows – Channel 27 in ABQ(not necessarily endorsed by LPNM)

The Weekly Sedition – Wednesdays at 8PMHemp TV – Tuesdays at 7PM

A Need to Know – Alternating Tuesdays at 9 PMReeferhead – Saturdays at 6PM

Gun Collectors of New Mexico – Third Thursday of each month, at 8PM

Pork – The Alternative Fuel, by Dan Wassermanwww.tinyurl.com/bz7mx

September 2005 The Official Newsletter of the Libertarian Party of New Mexico www.lpnm.orggroups.yahoo.com/group/nmliberty

NEW MEXICO LIBERTY “Let Freedom Ring”

Editor / Publisher Mike Blessing [ [email protected] ]Print Distribution Ron Bjornstad [ r [email protected] ]



FIELD REPORTSFrom County / Campus Chairs

Bernalillo – The Weekly Sedition has replaced NewMexico's Consumer Advocate for the third quarter of 2005 (July / August / September) on AlbuquerqueComcast Ch.27. Show times are Wednesdays at 8PM.New Mexico's Consumer Advocate will return in October.

A Strategic Planning Retreat was hosted by Jamie Deuel

for the CentCom on 09 July 2005. The full report isavailable in the Files section of [LPNM-Biz]. A summaryis included in this issue – see page 5.

Jay Vandersloot has been the Libertarian representativefor political forums on A Need to Know, sponsored byPatty Gladstone on ABQ Ch.27.

Mike Blessing has set up interim websites for theLibertarian Party of Bernalillo County. The site URLs aregroups.myspace.com/lpnmbernco andgroups.yahoo.com/group/lpnm-bernalillo. More to follow.

John Pfersich has announced his intention to run againstMichael Brasher for County Commission in District 5.

Chaves – D.J. Glenn has been hosting monthlymeetings on the third Friday of the month.

The Libertarian Party of Chaves County will have a boothat the Eastern New Mexico State Fair, 3 thru 9 October 2005. They are raffling a Ruger model 10/22T (targetrifle) carbine. With all tickets sold, the drawing will beheld Sunday afternoon, 9 October. (See page 4 for details.)

D.J. Glenn has started an organizational effort andmembership drive recently, and will be sending outletters to the inactive county affiliates, voters registeredas Libertarian in counties where there is no active countyaffiliate party, and others.

Lincoln – Tony Seno has recently resigned as countychair. Richard Obergfell will be the acting county chair pending an organizational meeting with D.J. Glenn.Richard has also been assisting D.J. with theorganizational effort and membership drive.

San Juan – The previously-announced rifle raffle is stillgoing on, and is due to be raffled off on 15 December 2005, for the LPSJC's Bill of Rights Day event. ContactBob Ziesmer for details.

The LPSJC has been making quite a bit of hay with therecent conviction of Juan Mata for “criminal libel,” withletters-to-the-editor and statements to the Farmington

City Council. (See pages 6-7 for details.)The LPSJC recently sponsored a table at the San JuanCounty Fair, 17-20 August 2005, and was well-receivedby the public, despite some flak from two public officials.(See page 5 for details.)

Sandoval – The LPSC is having its monthly meetings atthe J.B.'s on 528, north of Intel.

Santa Fe – Susan Ruch will be assisting D.J. Glenn withmailings to be sent out with the organizational effort andmembership drive.

University of New Mexico – John Pfersich will also beassisting with the start-up of a college libertarian group athe UNM Main Campus. A print advertisement in supporof the UNM group was placed in UNM Daily Lobo byBruce Bush.

CENTRAL COMMITTEE NOTESBy Mike Blessing [ [email protected] ]

From: Jay Vandersloot [ [email protected]]

Mike,As the LPNM Secretary, please record the following fothe record.

Including the State Chair, their are currently 11 memberson the Central Committee of the LPNM.

To the question on the EMAIL VOTE on Re-certificationI received nine replies. All eight voted yes on thequestion. Replies were not received from two CenCommembers.

The following are the Central Committee members whoreplied on the email vote to accept Scott Kohlhaas' offepertaining to the recertification drive.

YES votes (9):Mike BlessingBruce BushStan RaczynskiJudy GlennDorsey GlennRon BjornstadBob Ziesmer Richard ObergfellJohn Pfersich

There were zero NO votes and zero abstentions.

As Chair I did not vote. For the record, had I voted, would also have voted YES.

Vote is carried to accept Scott Kohlhaas' offer.

Jay VanderslootState Chair

[ This was after CentCom discussed an offer made toJay by Scott Kohlhaas, that Scott would run the LPNM'sre-certification effort, the signatures for which are due inearly April, 2006. The full document, including discussionbetween Kohlhaas and Jay, is available in PDF format inthe Files section of [LPNM-Biz]. The next CentCommeeting is on 11 Sept 2005, at Roper's RestaurantContact Jay or myself for directions, time, agenda, etc. –

MWB ]

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"No dictator, no invader can hold an imprisonedpopulation by force of arms forever. There is no greatepower in the universe than the need for freedom. Againsthat power, governments and tyrants and armies cannostand."

– G'Kar to Londo Mollari,"The Long Twilight Struggle" (Babylon 5)



Voice of the Chair Jay Vandersloot

[email protected]

Zero-Dues Proposal passedby the National Committee.

With the passage of the Zero-Dues proposal by theNational Committee, this means we will no longer

receive our “welfare” payments from National. Instead,we will have to look to becoming self-sustaining.

This is quite in keeping with our Libertarian principles.We want government to do away with welfare, and ineffect we are setting the example by doing away with our internal LP “welfare” system we have become sodependant on.

We discussed this at the LPNM Executive Committeemeeting, and will pursue it further at the CentralCommittee meeting on September 11th. Yes, that’sright, we’ll be meeting on 9/11, plus 4 years.

Something should be done about that.

Often it seems that at every turn we see a wrong thatneeds to be righted, or at least spoken against. Youthink to yourself, “Someone should write a letter to theeditor.” And, you wait for someone else, such as theChair, or one of the CenCom reps to do it.

Why wait? When you identify the need, sit down, writethat letter yourself, and send it to the media. Theindividuals of the LP of San Juan County seem to bequite adept at taking the lead when they see a need.And we have a number of other LPNM members aroundNM who are also doing the same. But, it takes morethan a few of us to make the LPNM effective. The moreof us taking a part in spreading Libertarian principles, the

more effective we will be.An Opportunity to Voice Your Opinion on Issues.

There are times when an issue arises that we’d like toknow what the members of the LPNM think, but justdon’t have the time to poll everyone to get your views.Here’s a way you can speak out on issues. Join theLPNM-Activists group (don’t let the word activists scareyou). If you sign up to receive either individual or consolidated emails you will be notified whenever a pollhas been listed. You just click on the link in the email,sign in, and indicate your view on the subject of the poll.To join the group, send an email to [email protected] and follow the instructions

you receive for joining.Now, let’s educate ourselves on a couple of planks fromour National Platform of the Libertarian Party, so we willbe better able to present the principles to others.

I. Individual Rights and Civil Order

No conflict exists between civil order and individualrights. Both concepts are based on the samefundamental principle: that no individual, group, or government may initiate force against any other individual, group, or government.

“This time, like all times, is a good one, if we but knowwhat to do with it.”

– Ralph Waldo Emerson

Freedom and Responsibility

The Issue: Personal responsibility is discouraged bygovernment denying individuals the opportunity toexercise it. In fact, the denial of freedom fosters

irresponsibility.The Principle: Individuals should be free to makechoices for themselves and to accept responsibility fothe consequences of the choices they make. We mustaccept the right of others to choose for themselves if weare to have the same right. Our support of an individual'sright to make choices in life does not mean that wenecessarily approve or disapprove of those choices. Webelieve people must accept personal responsibility fothe consequences of their actions.

Solutions: Libertarian policies will promote a societywhere people are free to make and learn from their owndecisions.

Transitional Actions: Repeal all laws that presumegovernment knows better than the individual how to runthat person's life. Encourage private sectodissemination of information to help consumers makeinformed decisions on products and services. Enforcelaws against fraud and misrepresentation.

Crime

The Issue: The continuing high level of violent crime –and the government's demonstrated inability to deal withit – threatens the lives, happiness and belongings oAmericans. At the same time, governmental violations orights undermine people's sense of justice with regard to

crime. Victimless crime laws themselves violateindividual rights and also breed genuine crime.

The Principle: The only justified function of governmentis the protection of the lives, rights and property of itscitizens.

Solutions: The appropriate way to suppress crime isthrough consistent and impartial enforcement of lawsthat protect individual rights. We applaud the trendtoward private protection services and voluntarycommunity crime control groups.

Transitional Action: We call for an end to "hate crime"laws that punish people for their thoughts and speech

distract us from real crimes, and foster resentment bygiving some individuals special status under the lawLaws pertaining to "victimless crimes" should berepealed. We support institutional changes, consistenwith full respect for the rights of the accused, whichwould permit victims to direct the prosecution in criminacases.



LIBERTY IS ON THE AIRBy Paul Tietjens [ [email protected] ]

Free Talk Live (www.freetalklive.com), is a national talkradio show that promotes libertarian solutions to politicalproblems and provides a popular forum for just aboutany subject.

The radio show bills itself like this:

“In an industry where shows are either pro-republican or

pro-democrat, Free Talk Live is unabashedly pro-FREEDOM.”

If you haven't heard them yet, the show podcasts andhas quality mp3 available for download or live streamingon their site at www.freetalklive.com/tunein.php.

As an avid listener for the last few months I can attestthat the hosts have a very provocative, but accessiblepro-freedom approach to the callers' topics. Frompersonal relationships to the evils of eminent domain, theshow is a pedestrian promotion of the principals thatlibertarians hold dear.

If we want to touch the minds of the latent libertarians outthere, this is the kind of format that can do it.

To bring this show to our state, all it will take is enoughpeople calling local radio stations and asking them tocarry it.

Five or ten minutes of your time will put a bug in their ear and help spread the message of liberty.

Here are the stations to call and who to ask “Would youconsidering picking up Free Talk Live?”. A personal callwould be best, but if you can't bring yourself to call, youcan always send an email!

KAGM 106.3 FM – www.kagm.com505-878-0980 – Scott Sherwood

KABQ 1350 AM – www.abqtalk.com505-830-6400 – Bill May

KKOB 770 AM – www.770kob.com505-767-6700 – Pat Frisch

KTBL 1050 AM505-767-6700

CHAVES COUNTY RIFLE RAFFLEBy Dorsey J. Glenn [ [email protected] ]

The Libertarian Party of Chaves County will have a boothat the Eastern New Mexico State Fair, 3 thru 9 October 2005. They are raffling a Ruger model 10/22T (target

rifle) carbine. With all tickets sold, the drawing will beheld Sunday afternoon, 9 October.

The Ruger being raffled has a Bushnell 3-9x 40mmscope, Leupold scope mounts, a keypad trigger lock anda top-grade cowhide sling. Tickets are Ø2 apiece.Contact Dorsey Glenn for details.

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE NOTESBy Mike Blessing [ [email protected] ]

14 August 2005 Meeting

Attending

Jay Vandersloot, Bruce Bush, Mike BlessingStan Raczynski, Ron Bjornstad, Jamie Deuel

Discussed

• The new zero-dues rules from the LNC

• Ideas on LPNM memberships

• Potential fundraising measures

• Re-certification of the LPNM as a political party inNew Mexico

• Increasing college student participation in the LPNM

• The membership drive and organizational effortspearheaded by Dorsey Glenn

• The future of the LPNM website

Full notes of the ExCom meeting are posted in the Filessection of [LPNM-Biz]. The next CentCom meeting wil

be on 11 September 2005, at Roper's RestaurantCentral Ave SE near Wyoming Blvd. Contact myself orJay for more information, concerns that the CentComshould address, etc.

Deep Pockets, by Drew Shenemanwww.tinyurl.com/cur5g

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"Individual rights are not subject to a public vote; amajority has no right to vote away the rights of a minoritythe political function of rights is precisely to protecminorities from oppression by majorities (and thesmallest minority on earth is the individual)."

– Ayn Rand

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"Be wary of strong drink. It can make you shoot at taxcollectors – and miss."

– Robert A. Heinlein, Time Enough For Love (1973)



He and the Deputy both said the sight of me wearing mysidearm might encourage gang bangers to think theycould also wear theirs. WTF? After a short discussionthe Deputy agreed gang bangers could wear theirs ifthey wanted, but would more likely have them concealedwhether I was wearing mine or not.

I continued to wear my sidearm throughout the Fair andrecieved several positive comments from "families," andone deputy, Connie Lee, said she would encourage morecitizens to open carry.

STRATEGIC PLANNING RETREAT SUMMARYBy Jamie K. Deuel [ [email protected] ]

The Libertarian Party of New Mexico is clearly “down” but just as clearly it is not “out.”

The ideas and new initiatives that were brought forwardduring this planning retreat offer fresh, attainable, andeminently powerful steps along the road to recoveryHistory is replete with examples of an individual, or agroup, hitting a low point and rebounding with suchalacrity and success it became hard to remember thebad times.

When Steve Jobs, at age 30, got fired by the companyhe founded, Apple, how many wrote him off? Yet, todayhe has not only personally rebounded with Pixaanimation his vehicle, but also has regained the helm offloundering Apple and righted it to, not merely, stay afloabut to challenge Microsoft in product qualityperformance, and customer satisfaction, so much so thait is enjoying the ultimate of any Libertarian successstory, record profits in a highly competitive market.

But it does take will!

Does the LPNM, with its “new” officers, some truly newothers returning to lend their proven experience anddedication, have that will? There is every reason tobelieve the job will get done. The biggest questions arehow (1) quickly, and (2) effectively?

Time will certainly tell. Heads they win, tails theylose.

Seeing Gnomes, by Drew Shenemanwww.tinyurl.com/bxgq5

SAN JUAN COUNTY FAIR BOOTHBy Derrill Gleim [ [email protected] ]

The LPSJC recently sponsored a table at the San JuanCounty Fair, 17-20 August 2005, the largest county fair inNew Mexico. We paid for the booth, had a really goodreception this year, and had lots of conversationsconcerning the current state of the police state inAmerica.

We got a number of "thumbs up" for our resolution

concerning Juan Mata that was published in the DailyTimes. We have a small number of new people on our mailing list. People picked up tons of literature andcomplained about the R's & D's.

I wore my .45 ACP on my hip, and was asked by a Fair Board member and a deputy sherrif to remove it. Irefused unless they could show me the statute or arrestme, of which they did neither.

Derrill Gleim at LPSJC Booth

Destri Gleim at LPSJC Booth

Two other people were asked to remove theirs andcomplied, as the deputy told them they were on privateproperty and they believed him.

The Fair Board consists of 6-7 members but only oneconfronted me about the pistol. He told me he wasconcerned because the Fair was "family oriented." Ireplied that I also was family oriented, especially for thesafety of my family that was at the Fair with me.



FARMINGTON'S DARKEST HOURSubmitted by Joseph Knight [ [email protected] ]

Editorial – Farmington Daily Times, 08 August 2005, 11:37 PMOnly thing 'criminal' about 'criminal libel'

is filing such a charge

We’ve all know about libel.

Somebody sues somebody else for negative words or imagesthat were printed about that individual.

Movie stars and tabloids often are at odds in such cases, butlibel laws apply to all forms of publications.

The vast majority of libel cases never make it to court, and thevast majority of those that do eventually are thrown out by a judge or judges.

Why? Because our Constitution guarantees the right to freespeech. It’s one of the very foundations of what makesAmerica great.

The rule basically is no harm, no foul – especially whendealing with celebrities, public figures and public officials.

That doesn’t mean libel cases don’t get filed. But since libelcases are a civil matter, at risk is a hefty financial judgmentagainst those deemed to have used poor judgment inpublication. Poor taste is not libel.

Still, libel is a money issue. It’s not like anybody risks going to jail, right?

Well, in New Mexico, there is such a thing called “criminallibel.” Most of us have never heard of it because it’s almostnever filed. And we mean almost never.

Criminal libel is a misdemeanor charge, and there are four such cases known to have been filed in our state’s history.

Make that five.

Farmington recently charged a local man with criminal libel for picketing in front of the police station.

The man has long claimed police harassment, but hisdemands for investigation have been repeatedly ignored bythe Farmington Police Department.

So, 32-year-old Juan Mata decided to take matters into hisowns hands, and with a homemade sign that accused acertain officer of being “a dirty cop,” he demonstrated in frontof police headquarters.

The Oct. 28, 2004 mini-protest took place on a publicsidewalk, Mata claims.

Indeed, Mata was not charged with trespassing. Instead, hewas charged with criminal libel, harassment and stalking.

Mata, of course, is claiming retaliation, in addition to hisconstitutional rights being violated. Again. One can understandhow Mata might feel the way he does, given the fact heprotested in late October but wasn’t charged with criminal libeluntil until January – two months after he and his family hadfiled a civil rights lawsuit alleging police brutality.

Some might call it coincidence or simply bad timing on thecity’s part.

We’ll be interested in what the judge calls it when Mata’scriminal libel case is heard in court today. We believe thecharges should be thrown out. In America, a man should havethe right to protest City Hall, or in this case, the police stationThe Constitution says so in the most plain of languageguaranteeing the “freedom of speech ... the right of the peoplepeaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for aredress of grievances.”

The language is plain only to keep it simple and to keep thelaw from being misunderstood or twisted to mean something

else.

“It’s pretty amazing. The strong elements of the policedepartment don’t understand there are First AmendmenRights,” said Dennis Montoya, an attorney for Mata.

We also find it disturbing.

Maybe Mata is wrong in his claims against the policedepartment. That is not the point. The point is, Farmingtonlooks downright silly by pulling an archaic, seldom-used lawout of the books to criminally charge a man with a picket signwho is peaceably protesting.

The city looks sillier yet filing such a charge three months aftethe mini-protest took place – and sillier yet again that thecriminal libel charge came only after the man had filed alawsuit against the police department on allegations oharassment.

We believe the city is going to look more than silly when ilearns the most recent criminal libel case – State v. Powell in1992 – ended with the New Mexico Court of Appeals ruling thestatute is unconstitutional. “We hold that the statute isunconstitutional insofar as it applies to a public statemeninvolving a matter of public concern,” the appellate rulingstated.

Unconstitutional? Yes, and we’d like to add unconscionableWith meth problems, DWI, deadly street-racing and othecrimes on the rise here, shouldn’t Farmington be spending its

manpower and resources in a more constructive way thanfiling criminal libel charges against a man with a sign? Yes, hewas saying mean things about a police officer. But surely thecity has a thicker skin than that, to pull out all stops just topunish one man for having his say?

By the way, before the 1992 criminal libel case was thrown oufor being unconstitutional, there were criminal libel chargesfiled in 1914, 1915 and 1919. That’s a long time ago. The citymust have dusted off a lot of law books to find some obscurestatute to charge Mr. Mata. Unfortunately, it apparently missedthe 1992 ruling.

Mr. Mata will have his day in court today on the criminal libecharge. And he will have his day in court later on his civi

lawsuit against the city. We are confident justice will prevail inboth cases. We just hope the city uses better logic if someoneelse ever decides to picket City Hall or exercise some otherconstitutionally protected act of freedom in public.

We say this, of course, apparently at risk of becoming the sixthcase of criminal libel filed in the state of New Mexico. But wesay so proudly and loudly when it comes to defending ouconstitutional freedoms. We hope you do, too.

Man claiming police harassment charged with criminal libel07 August 2005 – www.tinyurl.com/c55gc

Jury finds Mata guilty of criminal libel09 August 2005 – www.tinyurl.com/br7do



Libertarian Party of San Juan County, NMResolution in Support of Civil Liberties with

Regard to the Juan Mata Case

WHEREAS the Libertarian Party of San Juan County supportsthe rights of all citizens and residents to engage in free speechand to petition government for a redress of grievances; and

WHEREAS these freedoms are supposedly guaranteed by theConstitutions of the United States of America and the State of New Mexico; and

WHEREAS Juan Mata is a citizen and resident of thiscommunity who perceived an injustice from Farmington PoliceDepartment Officer Mike Briseno, and whereas Juan Mata hassought redress and justice by filing a civil rights lawsuit againstthe City of Farmington and Officer Mike Briseno, by picketingand demonstrating on public property, and by petitioning andrequesting an investigation of Officer Mike Briseno; and

WHEREAS the City of Farmington has prosecuted Juan Matafor criminal libel, a law already determined to beunconstitutional, as a result of these activities and hasobtained a conviction in the magistrate court; and whereas theconduct of city officials and police officers with regard to civilliberties is a matter of public concern; and whereas there are

serious concerns over the objectivity and fitness of JudgeWilliam Vincent, who presided over the case in magistratecourt; and

WHEREAS Officer Mike Briseno had been found in a previouscase to have violated the civil rights of a citizen, namelyChester Mitchell; and whereas the New Mexico Supreme Courthas found that Judge William Vincent "…exhibited bias,prejudice or an appearance thereof during arraignment inState vs. Chester Mitchell:"

BE IT THEREFORE RESOLVED by the Central Committee of the Libertarian Party of San Juan County that we believe anyreasonable person would conclude the actions taken againstJuan Mata were retaliatory in nature and constitute a chilling

effect on citizens wishing to exercise their civil rights; andBE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT the Central Committee of the Libertarian Party of San Juan County expresses itsoutrage concerning the actions of the City Attorney's Officeand calls for the resignation or termination of City AttorneyWilliam Cooke and any other city official or employee found tohave taken a proactive role in this persecution; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED BY the Central Committee of theLibertarian Party of San Juan County that we call for theresignation or termination of Officer Mike Briseno; and that wecall for a review of the entire Farmington Police Department for the purpose of identification and termination of any and allofficers who have been found by any court to have violated thecivil rights of any citizen; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED BY the Central Committee of theLibertarian Party of San Juan County that the CountyChairman is directed to send copies of this resolution to eachmember of the Farmington City Council, the Farmington CityAttorney's Office, and primary news media outlets in San JuanCounty; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED BY the Central Committee of theLibertarian Party of San Juan County that the CountyChairman is directed to send a copy of this resolution to theJudicial Standards Commission with a cover letter recommending that Judge William Vincent be removed fromthe bench; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED BY the Central Committee of theLibertarian Party of San Juan County that the CountyChairman is directed to send copies of this resolution to thecounty chairmen of all other political parties organized in SanJuan County with a cover letter asking them to join us instanding up for civil liberties and responsible government.

[SouthwestRegionLNC]New Federal Case on Petitioning

Tue, 09 August 2005 17:32:05By David Euchner [ [email protected] ]

www.tinyurl.com/9rpmn

The case title is Initiative and Referendum Institute, et al. vUnited States Postal Service, No. 04-5045 (D.C. Cir. August 92005).

Today the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit decidedthat the United States Postal Service's regulations onprohibi ting all petit ioning on postal property areUNCONSTITUTIONAL. This case applies to ALL 34,000USPS properties across America.

If anyone is doing petitioning, voter registrations, or any othersimilar activity, you MUST read this case and make sure any

people you have in your community doing such work knows othis case.

For those not inclined to read it, this is basically the holding othe case:

1. exterior USPS property is a public forum

2. the USPS restriction is content-neutral (bans all speechequally), but it is not narrowly tailored toward servingthe government interest (of avoiding disruption tocustomers transacting business) and does not preserveample alternative channels of communication.

3. the USPS regulation is unconstitutionally overbroad onits face because it bans not just petitioning but evensolicitation outright - which would include askingsomeone to step off of USPS property to sign thepetition.

The priceless quote of the day is on page 15 of the opinionwhere the Court quotes the government's brief (andsubsequently mocks the government accordingly):

"people who come to post offices to engage in postal businessmay well be irritated by even the nicest circulator, howevebrief the interruption may be, because they are beinginterrupted in what they set out to do, questioned abousomething plainly personal..., and asked to think about anissue that presumably was not on their minds when they seout to engage in postal business."

The matter has been remanded to the District Court for furtheproceedings. Expect the USPS to re-write its regulations.

But in the meantime, the only restriction on post officepetitioning has been struck down, so it's open season.

David Euchner, Attorney at Law7465 E. Broadway, Suite 201Tucson, AZ 85710TEL: 520-326-3550FAX: 520-326-0419Cell: 520-400-8324Email – [email protected]



CENTRAL COMMITTEE

Chair Jay Vandersloot, 505-362-1733

[email protected]

Vice Chair Bruce Bush, [email protected]

Secretary

Mike Blessing, [email protected]

Treasurer Stan Raczynski, [email protected]

At-Large Representative, Seat ARon Bjornstad, [email protected]

At-Large Representative, Seat BJudy Glenn, 505-625-0175

[email protected]

District 1 Representative, Seat A

Paul Tietjens505-880-2372 / [email protected]

District 1 Representative, Seat BJohn Pfersich505-301-2601 / [email protected]

District 2 Representative, Seat ARichard Obergfell, [email protected]

District 2 Representative, Seat BDorsey J. Glenn, [email protected]

District 3 Representative, Seat ABob Ziesmer, [email protected]

District 3 Representative, Seat BW. Keaton Johnson, 505-983-5856

CAMPUS GROUPS

New Mexico TechLucas Uecker 505-301-7980 / [email protected]

University of New MexicoJohn Pfersich (Acting)505-301-2601 / [email protected]

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It's amazing what one has tobelieve to believe in gun control

by Michael Z. Williamsonwww.tinyurl.com/j2jf

That guns are the real cause of crime,but we will blame and jail the owner of said gun for the crime, even if the owner wasn't the person involved.

COUNTY CHAIRS

BernalilloMike Blessing, [email protected]/lpnmbernco

ChavesDorsey J. [email protected]

ColfaxRichard Moore, [email protected]

Dona AnaJohn Ennis, 505-571-6881

[email protected]

GrantHelena Hammer, 505-388-1270

LeaChristina Groth, 505-397-9366

Lincoln

Richard Obergfell (Acting)505-378-8025 / [email protected]

Los AlamosAllen Cogbill, [email protected]

LunaMarilyn Steffen, [email protected]

Roosevelt Ken Sanders, 505-749-2085

San JuanBob Ziesmer, [email protected]

SandovalDon [email protected]

Santa FeSusan Ruch, [email protected]

SocorroShawn L. Price, 505-838-5259

ValenciaAmy Frederick, 505-866-1127

[email protected]

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"Change is exhiliarating when doneby us, disturbing when done to us."

– Rosabeth Canter

INTERNET RESOURCES

www.lpnm.org

Email lists on lpnm.org – see thesubscription control page to sign up:www.lpnm.org/SubscrControl.shtml

Yahoo groups

LPNM Discussiongroups.yahoo.com/lpnm-discuss

New Mexico Libertygroups.yahoo.com/group/nmliberty

LPNM Activistsgroups.yahoo.com/group/lpnm-

activists

LPNM Business Listgroups.yahoo.com/group/lpnm-biz

(LPNM membership required)

Myspace.comgroups.myspace.com/lpnm

[ I'm willing to assist county and

campus affiliates in setting upgroups on Myspace and Yahoo fortheir announcements, press releasearchives, etc., but I'm not going todo it unless I can be sure that thereare some people in that countywilling to use them to publicize theiefforts, such as meetings, ralliesand media efforts. – MWB ]

OPENINGS

County Chairs (18)

Catron, Cibola, Curry

De Baca, Grant, GuadalupeHarding, Hidalgo, McKinley

Mora, Quay, Rio ArribaSan Miguel, Sierra, Socorro

Taos, Torrance, Union

Campus Chairs (3)

Eastern New Mexico UniversityNew Mexico State University

Western New Mexico University

Call or email the state chair if you're interested in

filling a slot.

If you don't, who will?

<> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <>

“What's the difference between theIRS and the KGB? The KGB doesn'expect you to provide the evidenceagainst yourself.”

– Charles Curley



- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Libertarian Party of New Mexico Enrollment / Renewal Coupon

Name Address

City State Zip Phone

Email Employer Occupation

[ ] I am a registered Libertarian and wish to [ ] join [ ] renew as a caucus member. Enclosed is $25 annual dues payable t“Libertarian Party.” (Sorry, we cannot accept corporate checks.) I will get the state newsletter and the LP News and will havedelegate stat us at state conventions.

I oppose the initiation of force to achieve social or political goals. Signed

[ ] Enclosed is my donation of $ for use as indicated:

[ ] LPNM General Fund [ ] Chair’s Contingency Fund [ ] Major Player Fund [ ] Win One Fund

Please make donation check payable to “LPNM.” (Sorry, we cannot accept corporate checks.)

Credit Card Info: Type Number Exp.Date Amount

Signed

Government mandated notices:

• The US Postal Service requires us to notify you that the annual LP News subscription cost of $25 is included in your nationamembership dues.

• The Internal Revenue Service requires us to print “political contributions are not tax deductible” on all fund raising appeals.• The Federal Election Commission requires us to ask for the employer and occupation of each individual whose contributions

aggregate in excess of $200 in a calendar year.

The preceding notices alone should be enough reason to join the Libertarian Party, the only political party working to increase yourfreedom.

PRINT, FILL OUT, CUT ON DOTTED LINE AND SEND TO: 918 IVORY RD SE / RIO RANCHO NM 87124

NEW MEXICO LIBERTY – ADMIN NOTESMike Blessing, Editor [ [email protected] ]

If you have news, interesting stories, op-ed pieces or timelyinformation that you think belongs in the newsletter, pleasesend it along. I can be contacted at 505-453-4532, or emailaddress [email protected].

When sending your submission as an MS Word file, send itsingle-spaced in 9-pt Arial – like this is. Margins should behalf-inch (0.5”) around, with no headers or footers. If you send

it in a text-only format, make it clear to me if you want anythingin bold type, underlined, in italics, struck-through, etc. I’m nottelepathic here, so help me out.

What I'm really looking for in the way of articles is what's goingon in the LPNM – what YOU the membership are up to inspreading the message. For example, an article about thestupidity, insanity and evil of the UN might get put in,depending on available space and the quality of the article. Agroup of LPNM members counter-protesting the raising of aUN flag by the city council WILL get put in, and probably willget first priority.

Graphics (pictures, cartoons, etc.) – send the highest qualitygraphics you can – email them to me at the address above,

and I’ll do what I can to get them in the next issue. Inparticular, what I want are pictures of YOU the LPNMmembers, either at LPNM-sponsored events or at other people’s events.

For a print subscription, contact Ron Bjornstad for details.

Finally, New Mexico Liberty will be posted to the web, in textonly and PDF formats, to the Yahoo group I’ve set up for it:

groups.yahoo.com/group/nmliberty

The text version will go out as email messages, and back issueswill be available on the web in the Messages section. The .pdversion will be available in the Files section.

A. Subscriptions and Correspondence

groups.yahoo.com/group/nmliberty/join

To subscribe, send a blank email [email protected]

To UNsubscribe: send a blank email message to:[email protected]

Submissions, problems, Letters to the Editor – send a messageto [email protected]

Submission deadlne for the October issue – 28 Sept 2005

B. Copyright

Copyright © 2005 Libertarian Party of New Mexico. All rightsreserved. Permission is explicitly granted for subscribers to recopy NewMexico Liberty for non-commercial purposes, specifically as useas an outreach tool, as in leaving said copies in the waitinglobbies of doctors’ and dentists’ offices, car repair shops, etc.as well as for use at special events, provided that NM Liberty iscopied in its entirety. Use your imagination here.

new mexico liberty, september 2005

Documents