January 16, 2008

  • Libertarian group holds second meeting

    Libertarian group holds second meeting
    Alamogordo Daily News
    By Laura London, Staff Writer
    6 December 2007
    The
    Libertarian Party of Otero County held its second meeting Dec. 5 at the
    home of Dr. Gilberto Heredia, chairman. Thirteen people, including the
    doctor, were in attendance.

    Before calling the meeting to order,
    Heredia chatted with attendees about books and introduced his idea to
    start a Libertarian library. He said he already has several books
    featuring Libertarian philosophy, and invited people to borrow them as
    long as they identify themselves and the book they’re borrowing.

    Once
    the meeting was called the Libertarians settled into business, and the
    first item was the treasurer’s report. It was short — they have nothing.

    “We have zero,” said Sherrie Adler, party treasurer. “We’re working on it.”

    Earth
    Day, coming up in April, was an item of interest at the meeting.
    Heredia mentioned there was a contest for a four-word slogan for Earth
    Day 2008. Heredia’s suggestion was “Freedom Is Earth Friendly.” He
    hadn’t heard whether it was selected.

    Heredia viewed the local
    Earth Day event as an opportunity to educate the public about
    libertarianism, and said he would love the party to have a booth there.
    He said the Cottonwood Festival, the Fourth of July parade, the county
    fair and perhaps even gun shows would also be similar opportunities.

    Some
    discussion momentarily heated ensued among attendees as to whether gun
    shows are actually worth the party’s time or just full of “rednecks.”
    Heredia explained gun show enthusiasts are interested in preserving 2nd
    Amendment rights, and so they may respond well to the Libertarian
    philosophy.

    “But yeah, just because you believe in the 2nd
    Amendment doesn’t mean you’re a Libertarian,” Heredia acknowledged.
    “But also, the philosophy goes beyond that. It’s kind of like respect
    for the individual, you know . . . and the respect for the individual
    to own weapons.”

    Heredia reminded the group they did not have to
    attend all events, just some, to educate the public. He also mentioned
    he would like to make contact with Libertarians in Ruidoso, and
    encouraged anyone with friends there to let them know.

    Heredia
    said he probably will be running against Ron Griggs for a seat on the
    city commission in March. Acknowledging a lot can happen between now
    and then, he said he is 99 percent certain he will run. He plans to
    oppose an increase in the gross receipts tax for fixing roads.

    “A
    better way, if you really want to be fair about who uses roads, is have
    a user fee in the form of gas taxes. And that’s really the fair way,”
    Heredia said. “Not a gross receipts tax, but the fair way if we have
    to, really have to is to increase gas taxes. Not that I necessarily
    would be for that.”

    Heredia said he believes the city should
    retire the general obligation bond that will soon be paid off, rather
    than roll it over to pay for a new library or anything else.

    “They
    (city commission) just want to have all these really incredible plans
    to build another civic center, they want to spend a few bucks on the
    library . . . I’m not anti-library, I just think there’s a better way,”
    Heredia said. “And then today, this overtime issue . . . and they
    basically say, ‘Well, we don’t have $300,000.’ Well, where we going to
    come up with $20 million to fix the roads? Oh, and build another civic
    center?”

    Heredia generated some discussion on current national
    issues that have him and other Libertarians concerned. The first he
    noted was the Military Commissions Act, which he had also discussed at
    the first party meeting Nov. 7.

    “To me it’s kind of a scary
    thing,” Heredia said. “It’s basically it does a lot of things but one
    of the things it does, it suspends Habeas Corpus for U.S. citizens.
    It’s kind of a scary thing, actually.”

    Heredia explained the act
    allows the government to declare anyone an enemy combatant — even a
    U.S. Citizen — and those unfortunates can be picked up, sent to a brig,
    put in solitary confinement with no lawyer and no rights.

    “But
    in a liberal democracy . . . that power shouldn’t even exist,” Heredia
    said. “And even less people know about the Homegrown Violence and
    Radicalization Act
    .”

    Heredia said House Bill 1955 has passed the House of Representatives and is expected to pass the Senate overwhelmingly.

    “It’s an extension of the Patriot Act,” Alan Stenger observed.

    Heredia said if made law, the Homegrown Violence and Radicalization Act would curb freedoms significantly.

    “If
    you say something kind of bad like ‘let’s impeach Bush’ ‘Oh, that can
    be violent, and you’re homegrown so we need to pick you up and put you
    in jail for a few years,’” Heredia said. “Once again, maybe I’m
    exaggerating actually, not really . . . the definition of violence in
    this bill is very liberal.”

    The Libertarians next meet Jan. 2 at
    Dr. Heredia’s home. He invites those interested to call him at (575)
    439-8234 for more information.

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