Name: Jim Davidson
Topics: Space travel, space development, government space projects, future technologies, Communications Decency Act,
NASA 13, Houston ordinance on Sexually Oriented Businesses, electronic money, American history, the history of space achievement,
planetary science, astrophysics, astronomy, exobiology, new country developments, cryonics, the right to die,
right to keep and bear arms, states' rights, the
War of Northern Aggression (aka the American Civil War), the heinous acts of Abraham Lincoln, politics American style, your elected
representatives and how well do you know them, doorbell pushing and other secrets to winning campaigns, Houston Space Society,
Liberty Round Table, drug laws and why they don't work, civil forfeiture and what it is doing to your property rights.
Visual aids: Equipped with slides and slide projector, video tapes and VCR. Can bring overhead viewgraphs, but you supply the overhead projector.
Speeches: Being Libertarian
Speaker's comments: "Hi! I'm Jim Davidson. Among other things, I put web pages together, so I'm writing this text on my favorite web development tool. Among other business and technology topics, I can speak intelligibly on web site development and the future of the "Information Superhighway." If you've visited my commercial bio page you probably have a sense of my background, education, and work experiences.
"You're probably asking yourself, 'Can he really talk about all those topics?' The answer is, yes. I have had many years of training in speech and debate, and many more years experience in extemporaneous speech on almost any subject. I've been challenged on numerous occasions to prepare a speech in under 5 minutes on a topic selected from a hat, and I usually do pretty well.
"The topics above are listed in the order in which I prefer to speak on them. As you can see, my greatest enthusiasm is for space travel. How does that relate to freedom? When I started a company, Space Travel Services, to offer a free trip to the then-Soviet space station Mir to one lucky American, the government took an unfriendly interest and the project was shut down. Naturally, that got my attention.
"In the years since, I've increasingly observed that NASA and other US government agencies seem to be working deliberately and consistently to limit access to space. Whether this deliberate obfuscation is due to typical bureaucratic turf control issues, or part of a larger set of concerns about space access is not always clear. What has become clear is that NASA must be destroyed if any of us ordinary folks are going to get into space.
"Sounds pretty radical? Freedom generally does. A survey by some 8th-graders in my hometown revealed that nearly 85% of the residents of that fine community would not sign the Declaration of Independence when presented with a copy that lacked the "In Congress, July 4th 1776" heading information. Some didn't like the self-evident truths about all men being created equal, others didn't like the idea that people have a duty to throw down tyranny, still others found it uncomfortable to pledge their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honors.
"Is freedom for everyone? Certainly. It's just that not everyone knows what to do with it, how to defend it, or why it's important that other people have some. A great many people became confused about the role of government in our lives. I'm with Henry David Thoreau in thinking that government is an imposition, and that when we are ready for it, humans will live largely without any government.
"I'm eager to speak to you, your group, or your listeners or viewers. If you notice, my interview fee for speaking on your television or radio talk show is significantly lower than my appearance fee for speaking to your live audience. Yes, I will waive my fee if your cause is just, if your budget is tiny, or if my heart is inclined. So, usually not."
Don't Tread on Me!