I am a long time Redditor who wants to take our fight for personal freedoms to the next level. I am Dr Michael Ham, physicist, neuroscientist and candidate for the United States Senate from the great State of New Mexico

I helped run a senate campaign in edit: some place doing mostly website stuff and social media.

We lost to edit:Some old white guy, but we did pretty decent for edit:some conservative place

I hate politics now, but I should give you this advice.

• Get a professional website. One with A lot of Reds, Whites, and Blues. The lighter the background the better.

• Get rid of this picture. You never want a picture of you alone. Take a picture with some supporters of yours, have a professional take it. At least do it with an SLR.

• Shave your beard. As much as I like beards, it doesn't work for politicians.

• Get a haircut

• Get a WHITE shirt, with a Red/blue tie with very small patterns.

• Don't wear a jacket when you're talking in rural areas, and don't wear a tie.

• When talking at universities or in large cities, wear a tie and a jacket with a white shirt.

• Make sure you make it easy to DONATE on your website

• Start getting people to follow you on twitter and like you on facebook.

• DO NOT OVERUSE SOCIAL MEDIA, no one likes the guy that posts 20 things a day. Post 1 or 2 things per day, make sure they are important and make you look good. Ex: "Today I met with the people of X town and told them about my plans for X", etc.. Always make it a mini-story. Quick and making you look good. If it isn't going to make you look good, don't post it.

• Don't look dorky. No one wants to elect a nerd, they want to elect the guy that they want to hang out with. Unfortunately, intellectuals are in the minority. You have to appeal to the majority. People want to elect an alpha male.

• Know the demographics of where you're speaking. If you're speaking at a town, google it before you go, read up on it. Make them feel like you're a local guy and you're looking out for their interests. No one in a small town wants to elect some city guy, and no one in the city wants to elect a hillbilly rural boy.

Unfortunately, you have to morph yourself slightly depending on who you are talking to. That is the name of the game in politics, and its why I fucking despise politics.

But you should probably ignore me. We lost

Yes, all this. As a web designer and political junkie, I can't stress how important it is for someone in your position to get a proper campaign website up and running. Get a proper site right now, with a big fat DONATE button on the homepage. DO NOT get your friends to do it, hire a professional; this is an investment and will pay off big if done right.

For a grass roots campaign, the internet is very important and you need to harness it as much as possible to raise money and raise your profile.

I've had a professional volunteer to build the site. Hopefully it will be up soon.

NOT THE BEARD!

The beard stays. We're old friends

Thank you so much for this analysis. Much appreciated. In order

I've had someone volunteer to build one! It's rough starting out with no $

Yes, need a better picture there.

Nope. Me and the beard are old friends. If we can't go to Congress together we don't go.

Haircut, yes

I have those items

Good call, I hadn't really thought about it, but it makes sense

See above

Yes, big donate button!

Gained a ton of followers last night

Agreed, social media is good, but you have to get down on the ground

Also agreed. Can't hide the nerdy background, but I am also a very good public speaker and like talking with people

Do your research. Very very important no matter what you do in life.

In other words, get in with the cool kids.

Politics is awesome isn't it?

No, I hate politics. The process is such that only the dishonest can become elected.

This is the thing that is concerns me most about running. Yes you need to be approachable and represent your constituents, but you need to be honest and be willing to fail if your vision isn't a match.

With all due respect sir, words are just words. Do you have a history of civil service? Leadership? What in your past gives credence to your intentions? Why should you be trusted?

That would be a good start.

An excellent question, we've all been burned by our fair share of politicians and its pretty easy to be cynical.

Up to this point, I've dedicated my life to performing science, and I want to apply this methodology to politics. We need to really examine our policies and whether they've achieved their intended goals.

You ask what gives credence to my intentions? Throughout my adult life, I've worked to develop solutions for the problems facing the United States in creative ways. I started KinAesthetic Wind, a non-profit designed to increase the amount of renewable energy in the United States and lower the cost of a college education. I led a class where we built an electric car on a minimal budget. I've written an article discussing the dangers of PIPA and SOPA.

I'm not doing this to gain favors, I'm doing this because I want to actually provide solutions for the big problems these past Congresses have left us. I hope that answers your question to some degree.

It is not just cynicism in regard to your character, although that is definitely important. It is also about whether or not you are capable of political articulation, whether you understand the legislative process, and whether you can lead. The road to hell is paved with good intentions: just ask Jimmy Carter. And if you are qualified, and you do have good intentions, the one last thing remains: are you a man of moral fiber? Do you have guts? Do you have balls? Or are you a slick, eager-to-please, double-faced wishy washy son of a gun?

Show it.

Do I have guts - well I am running for Congress, which is a bit of a frightening prospect to be perfectly honest.

Here is my list of priorities

Does a man who is a "slick, eager-to-please, double-faced wishy washy son of a gun" build apocalypse ready cars?

Ultimately there is no way I can prove anything to you without actually doing it. I'm hoping the citizens of New Mexico will give me that chance.

Getting votes will be hard because nobody lives in New Mexico.

There are 2 million of us...but we are pretty spread out. However, that does mean there aren't all that many TV stations, so it is actually somewhat easier to get your message out with limited funds.

I want to move to New Mexico just to vote for you now.

Seriously, you sound like a really smart, problem-solving person and I wish you the best of luck.

Thank you

What will you do about high levels of substance abuse in rural New Mexico communities and high school drop outs?

This is a great question. I think we need to treat substance abuse as the health problem that it is. For those who aren't familiar, we aren't talking about marijuana here. Quite a meth problem in the state. A lot of this is directly related to the extreme poverty found in the state and the lack of hope it typically brings. I honestly don't have a full on solution here, we definitely need jobs. I think New Mexico's potential as an adventure tourist attraction has barely been scratched. With a minimal amount of funds we could build a few white water parks in the Rio Grande and really push downhill and cross country mountain biking in addition to the great skiing we already have.

As for dropouts, I would like to see trade schools discussed in public schools and find ways to make attending one more affordable. You can make a decent living as a mechanic, plumber, HVAC person and not need a high school diploma.

What will you do for the large native american population that lives in New Mexico. Do you have a special plan for them?

I would like to use some of my staff funds to bring students from the tribes/pueblos/nations to Washington where they could work on bills that are important to their people.

I would also like to have a good working relationship with the Governors of the tribes to make sure they are being represented fairly.

I'm glad you are running, I was very disappointed to see that my states representative supports sopa. I will be turning 18 just in time to vote for you. One more thing, if I have learned anything from living in this state its that you can reach the native american population through metal concerts. Just an idea :)

A very good idea. It is interesting how big metal is here. Now I need a metal band

My vote hinges upon this... have you ever been to Willard?

I go through Willard about 4 times a year on my way to visit my sister in Alamogordo. I've got a bunch of pictures of that wind farm out there.

I have never ever said this before about a candidate, and I've seen a fair amount of them, but I think you are legit.

Im not a us citizen, but I wish you luck

Thanks, I feel pretty legit.

I have read your top priorities, and I would have to say that I am pretty impressed. I am a New Mexican, live in Las Cruces, and attend NMSU. Do you have any organized support down here?

No, I definitely need some help collecting signatures in that area if you are interested.

I would love to help as well. I live in Santa Fe. do you have some kind of office or something like that is in town?

I've been working with Sean Closson in Santa Fe. He is running for the House against a SOPA co-sponsor and we are doing a combined signature gathering. I would appreciate the help, we need signatures to make sure we are on the ballot.

I am also from Las Cruces and could help a lot! I am currently in Albuquerque studying at UNM, though. I want you to know that I fully support you!

Awesome! I will get in touch no later than this weekend.

As a Redditor, how will you get anything done?

I will have to shut off the computer for parts of the day. That's a sacrifice I'm willing to make though

Your Wedding Photo is adorable.

Thank you. I really like it

You sir would be one badass Senator

And, judging by that photo alone, a pretty good Keanu Reeves impersonator.

I do what I can

I hope so

As a senator would you have any ability to resurrect the space program? Like would there be anything you could do or say to better NASA? As a physicist how do you feel about what the government is doing to NASA?

As a scientist, gutting NASA kills me just a little inside. I remember growing up and thinking 'we went to the moon.' How frikin awesome. Additionally, the technological spinoffs have, in my opinion, more than paid for the program.

One of the things I want to do as Senator is invest in our future by ensuring we keep funding science even as we decrease funding in other areas. Even if we save a few dollars in the short run, we need that government funded science to bring new technologies to market 10-20 years down the road. Generally speaking, private industry can't afford to do research and the government is bad at developing research into usable products. So there is a natural symbiosis that has made the US a technological leader all these years.

For NASA specifically? I would love to see a leaner NASA partner with private space firms and seriously attack the cost and risk associated with getting into orbit. Before I die, I want to go into space (the moon preferably), but I don't have millions of dollars to do so.

It's not just your opinion! Studies show that funded projects such as the NASA moon program returns multiple dollars to the US economy for each dollar that was put in. You sound like a busy man but if you ever have free time please watch the talk Brian Cox gave at TED! You're probably already of the same opinion but I think he makes points that are easily understood by the wider populace. :) Best of luck to you man.

I've seen the talk. Loved it.

Yes, great points. I am very interested in space and the space program and I died a little inside when I heard about the lack of funding. I think space is the future and to not providing funding for what I believe is a necessity is absolutely absurd. How do you think space will play a role in our future as human beings?

At some point, humanity will come up with a way to get many people and supplies into orbit in a cost effective manner. At that point, humans will do what they always do, explore.

I personally think we are in for a bit of a space lull, but all it will take is one breakthrough in technology that gets people into orbit and it will be an astounding thing to watch as people head out into the unknown.

This is a pretty make or break issue for some redditors: Marijuana legalization...your stance? How it should be implemented? Taxed? Regulated?

Also, gay marriage? Good luck!

Thanks. The drug war is an absolute failure. None of our policies have significantly reduced availability or demand. It's time for our country to be honest and treat it as a public health issue, much like alcohol is today.

The biggest reason is because we are broke, and policies like this aren't helping our financial future. We've seen great success in other countries with decriminalizing drugs. Unfortunately this is an uphill battle in the US because drugs have been framed as a moral rather than health issue. That needs to change and if I can gain any momentum, I will run ads to that affect.

Gay marriage is coming, its only a matter of time. I have some great gay friends who got married in California during the short time it was available. They have an awesome kid and are great parents. My wife and I even had Thanksgiving at their house this year. So yeah, I'm for it. This is also an issue that fits nicely with my desire to provide more civil liberties to Americans

Do you understand the financial incentives in place that favor continuing the Drug war? The real reasons why they do not want to legalize it?

It's a bit more complicated than that. Yes departments make a lot of money on seized assets. However, there is not a major public outcry to end the war on drugs because it is still framed as a moral debate.

Reddit is a different makeup from the general population. Here in the Reddit bubble it seems perfectly logical to end the war on drugs. However, what a majority of the voting public sees are drugs tied to gang activity, shootings and more.

'don't do marijuana and coke, you might end up as president'

Run for President. You seem to understand cost/benefit analysis more than anyone in DC right now.

No. Never.

I'm curious. Why not?

Being President is an insane job. Have you looked at the pictures of the guys before they get into office and after? It ages you 30 years. As a Senator you can have a few quirks that your constituents are mostly okay with and you can get to know many of them personally.

As president, there is someone who will hate you for anything you do. Not my cup of tea.

Also, knowing that many people are planning your assassination can be an unsettling thought.

Yeah, historically its a pretty dangerous job.

What would you like us to do? Also, you're stance on cats please.

I have two cats. Very pro-cats. Plural. Don't leave your kitty alone, get it a buddy.

Right now I need help getting on the ballot. Unfortunately, unless a lot of NM Redditor volunteers can help me out, that is going to require a significant sum of money to hire people to collect 7-9k signatures by mid February. So if you have any suggestions for ways to get ~$10k, I'm all ears. I've set up an ActBlue account, but do not want to violate the AMA rules by asking for money.

If you'd like to leave the info, I'd be willing to do the calls (did it for Rob, too). But I would need detailed instructions. Unfortunately contacting reddit first leaves you in a tough spot because "not your personal army" rules may apply. If I were to give any advice it'd be to contact the internets in an antisopa, antindaa way but that would only give you possibly national attention.

Wow, I really appreciate it. I will get back to you on that. National attention is what politics is all about these days. Politics is local, but with the internet local has gotten a whole lot bigger.

What's your stance on dogs?

Got one of those too. He's pretty awesome. All shelter animals too.

Have you held a job wherein you have managed a large group of people? What all do you know about foreign policy? What do you think the role of the federal government is? Do you have any current staff that could compensate for your political weaknesses?

I've worked with large projects and interdisciplinary research. I know these things are handled a bit differently, but I am ready to take on that challenge.

I am a news junkie, so I have a pretty extensive knowledge of foreign policy. My best asset here of course would be that I will do research into the issue and confer with colleagues and experts as to the best course of action in areas I am unfamiliar with.

I don't have any staff at the moment, but if my campaign picks up traction I will make sure to have people on board who can provide experience.

As someone with a history of cancer who has just been diagnosed with arthritis and was also just denied insurance through my employer- where do you stand on insurance and public healthcare in general?

Wow, I'm very sorry. My family is currently uninsurable outside of a group policy because of a pre-existing condition. I'm excited that insurance companies will have a much harder time rejecting pre-existing conditions starting next year. Like many Americans, the lack of health care outside of a large company policy has kept me from starting my own business. As we become a nation composed of freelancers and entrepreneurs, the ability to not go bankrupt from medical bills is extremely important. I would fight for a single payer alternative that competes with the insurance industry. Ultimately it will be cheaper for the nation as well.

Do you have a wikipedia page? Can't find one.

No. Seems weird to set your own up. I will do it this weekend though.

Please don't. In general, it is a good idea to wait until one is notable enough that someone else does it of their own accord. Writing one's own page runs into all sorts of neutrality and potential conflict-of-interest issues. Also, it can make for very bad PR if it goes badly.

Fair enough. We'll see if this warrants any attention

What would you do to improve the education system in this country? Specifically in science and math.

This is an extremely tough question.

Strangely enough, I would put more emphasis on extra curricular activities like art and music which help kids absorb what they've done.

I would also focus more on why scientists say they know what they know. Kids are pretty smart, they could understand Carbon dating methods and genetics. As for math, I would like to see kids introduced to advanced ideas (in simplified forms) at an early age. One of my personal areas of interest is at what age can a kid learn basic calculus. All through school I heard that calculus was hard. Turns out the basics really aren't.

I don't know any teachers who like NCLB so I would like to see solutions proposed by teachers. We do need to address schools that fail, but there is a good argument that NCLB is not the right tool.

What is your plan of attack to actually win? You're going to need to take drastic measures to defeat an incumbent while having no political experience yourself. Do you have the stomach?

The good news is that Bingaman is retiring so I'm not fighting an incumbent. The rough part is that I will be going head to head with a Representative (Martin Heinrich) and a State Auditor (Hector Balderas) who are both pretty popular.

My strategy is to run on the idea removing the barriers between Congress and the people they represent. No lifetime pension, no special healthcare. I will also bring the fight against our liberties to the forefront. Neither of the candidates have made this a core issue.

I believe I have the stomach for it. I know I'm running a long shot campaign, but if I get on the ballot they will have to take these ideas seriously.

Thoughts on the Federal Reserve?

The Federal Reserve didn't come out of a vacuum. There is a need for its services. However, it does need to be reformed. It's become a private -little or no interest- bank for the wealthy and that needs to be addressed immediately.

A redditor who doesn't think we should Kill the Fed and gold standard and rabble rabble?

I'd vote the shit out of you. You seem to actually understand what everybody seems not to grasp.

Thanks. The real world is often complicated and nuanced. Mostly I would just like people to explain their thoughts on things and have an informed debate

What do you think of Gary Johnson?

He's actually one of my inspirations. He did a great job as governor and I hope he will be a major contender in 2012. I really wish he hadn't been excluded from the Republican primaries so blatantly.

It will be interesting to see if the Paul fans jump behind him as we get closer to the election. He will be on the ballot in all 50 states.

I'm voting for Gov Johnson in the election. But I've specifically changed from an Independent to Republican just to vote for RP in the primaries. I just want the dialog going on the national stage, where the media can't completely disregard or obfuscate it as they have been doing.

Good luck.

Thanks, I think that is a plan that many RP fans are going to follow. It would be amazing to see him get some richly deserved attention on a national stage.

Why are you opposed to SOPA?

SOPA and PIPA start with a bit of a dubious claim.....that piracy is killing jobs in the United States. Here is an excellent analysis done by the Cato Institute.

Additionally, these laws assume piracy can be stopped. It can't. Your best solution is to be like the gaming industry: innovate and deliver content at a reasonable price in the format that people want.

Now, don't get me wrong, I support copyright for its intended goal...to keep others from profiting off my work. I actually have copyrighted material. PIPA and SOPA just go too far. Here is an article I wrote for the Huffington Post on the topic

16 days doesnt seem long a long time to be on reddit.

I agree with your priorities.

I've got another account. I will leave it to the Reddit sleuths to figure out which one it is :)

Hello Dr. Ham. Its nice seeing a scientist get into politics. Its time more smart people get involved :). I have always been interested in neuroscience. My question is, what got you interested in neuroscience and how was studying it throughout college and as a career?

I absolutely love neuroscience. It's amazing to think about the way we process data. As you study the material, you appreciate that our brains are relatively sloppy systems (compared to a computer), but it is this sloppiness that allows us to process vast amounts of data quickly and with a minimal amount of power. Your brain is about 8 petaflops of processing power. Japan just created an 8 petaflop supercomputer, but it still needs a MW of power. You do it with ~20W

As a career, it is very rewarding. I look forward to working on these projects. I also enjoyed grad school, but its not for everyone.

Are you aware of the congressional inside trading that goes on in Washington and of so what are some plans to fix this. It really bothers me.

Yeah, its extremely unethical and it should bother you. I want to go to Congress and make the people who work there more like regular Americans. No more lifetime pensions for a few years of work, no special healthcare and definitely no insider trading.

Dr. Ham, 2 questions, and I apologize if you've answered them and I missed them,

1. Where do your score on The Political Compass Test

2. As a fan of small government whenever it is pragmatic, I agree with almost everything in "The Big List" you linked to. However, as a social liberal, I am curious about whatever opinions you may have on gay rights.

EDIT: in his response to suntfrumose's query about marijuana legalization and gay marriage he answers question 2 (at the time of this edit, currently the 4th question down).

I will have to address 1 later. getting tired. Hope 2 was answered satisfactorily.

[deleted]

New Mexico is more laid back and actually has a very high concentration of very smart people. In Los Alamos county where I live, we have the highest concentration of PhDs in the United States.

New Mexico is also home to peoples who have faced many injustices (Native American Pueblos, Tribes and Nations). There is a cultural knowledge of what can go wrong when you give too much power to government or too little power to social programs.

My family is from Espanola and Penasco NM. As a Spaniard, I appreciate someone who understands the diverse cultures in NM besides "just having a PHD". Please remember the poverty levels, substance abuse rates, and the importance of spirituality to New Mexicans. I truly believe it is the most unique and beautiful state in the US.

And just so you know...If I wasn't in bat crazy Phoenix AZ, I'd be proud to vote for you, sir.

Thank you. It is a beautiful state, I love being able to get into the mountains anytime. There are some major issues that you mentioned. I do hope I can make a positive difference on them.

As a nueroscientist and one that is obviously technologically savvy how would you push for the modernization of our healthcare system? Specifically advancing electronic healthcare that could and will save thousands of lives.

Off the top of my head - We need to allow patients to easily move their records. It's not a lot of fun to fill out paper work every time you see a new doctor.

I would also like to see some studies on data mining that searches for ways to identify and prevent diseases. Can we use something like IBM's Watson or semantic webs to identify statistical risks?

Obviously this is a tricky thing to balance with patient privacy and needs to be carefully thought out and perhaps handled by a non-profit that has strict confidentiality policies.

We also need to find ways to use technology to reduce medical cost significantly. You seem to know something about the subject, I would be interested in your thoughts.