Tol En Tol The Outlaw

New Mexico launches manhunt for Billy the Kid. Posse-up to win $10000

Billy the Kid has been dead for 130 long years, but the powers that be in New Mexico aren't about to let him R.I.P.

The infamous outlaw might have been a murderer, horse thief, cattle rustler and fugitive. But he's still one heck of a marketing tool.

Gov. Susana Martinez has announced a summer-long "manhunt" (a.k.a. tourism promotion) for the Kid. The Catch the Kid contest is offering a $10,000 reward to the first "posse" to deliver an arrest warrant. The promotion involves a scavenger-style hunt in which participants gather clues as to the Kid's whereabouts by visiting locations throughout the state.

One of those clues can be found at the Billy the Kid Gift Shop in Mesilla, near Las Cruces. Outside is a Wanted poster bearing his likeness (one of many travelers will encounter in New Mexico this summer). Inside, a life-size poster of a cocky-looking Kid greets visitors with a speech balloon articulating a clue.

The 1800s adobe structure was once the county courthouse, where the Kid was found guilty in 1881 of murdering Sheriff William Brady. (And yes, the building is said to be haunted by ghosts. Maybe even Billy's!)

On Wednesday, owner Charlie Rogers was at the cash register, a display box of $1.98 Billy the Kid breath mints set nearby, targeting impulse buyers. He's not clear on the details of the state's latest effort to spotlight the outlaw, but figures it has to do with the fact that Billy the Kid is an image that's 100% New Mexican.

Though, he adds, after considering a moment, "We're probably the only state capitalizing on a criminal."

Former Gov. Bill Richardson made headlines last year when he announced he was considering a posthumous pardon for the Kid. Ultimately, however, he decided against it.

Regardless of whether this summer's promotion pays off for New Mexico's tourism industry, the Kid-as-cultural-icon delivered a bonanza a few weeks ago when the only authenticated Billy the Kid tintype sold at auction for $2.3 million. (It's reportedly the fourth most expensive photograph ever sold.)

A hundred-plus miles northeast of Mesilla, the Billy the Kid National Scenic Byway further illustrates the state's affection for the Kid. It pays homage to "famous lawmen, outlaws and warriors." A sign just inside the entrance to the Billy the Kid Scenic Byway Visitor Center in Ruidoso Downs (next door to the Billy the Kid Casino) characterizes the Kid as alert and intelligent.

California Governor Vetoes Bill to Outlaw ... - Ballot Access News

California’s Senate Bill 168 provided an appropriate attempt to achieve the Founding Fathers’ vision of the people assembling to petition government to correct policy decisions that the public actually were concerned about via Initiative. It is unfortunate that the Governor vetoed this modest Bill (passed by both houses of California’s Legislature). Instead of the public being empowered to petition on matters of broad public concern, this leaves in place a system that permits ONLY narrow moneyed interests to hire paid disinterested teams to harass and frequently defraud voters into signing petitions the voters know nothing about just so the voter can access their grocery store or post office (and the petition carrier can increase his/her pay). Governor Brown failed to protect either voter speech or petition with this veto.

“If people got a receipt of what they signed so they can redact it later then the slamming and jamming would end.”

This is an absurd comment. I’ve been involved in petitioning for over 11 years and I do not think that most petition circulators lie. Out of the ones who do lie, it is very easy to catch them in a lie and that is by READING THE PETITION. Anyone who READS A PETITION BEFORE they sign it will find out if the petition circulator lied to them or not. If the petition circulator will not allow you to read a petition, then don’t sign it. There is no need for any new legislation.

I don’t agree with Governor Jerry Brown on every issue, but I’m really glad to see that he did the right thing here by vetoing this horrible bill. If that bill would have passed it really would have damaged the petition process in California.

I heard that Jerry Brown has been involved with initiative petitions in the past so I’m glad to see that he remembered how difficult it is to place things on the ballot.

Andy have you ever done any signature transaction without a receipt? Buy anything or sign documents and you will always get a receipt. The petition industry refuses to clean up its act and allows slammers to continue to work. All the major companies have dodged a bullet. Now they should take it upon themselves to clean itself up. Because the Oregon law was put in place by unions collecting signatures. Protecting the few rotten apples is only going to make the whole crate spoil.

“The petition industry refuses to clean up its act and allows slammers to continue to work.

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