We are not the only state with a fiscal crisis...

... as Vermont State Rep. Michael Obuchowski would attest. At the end of a discussion on Windham's finances, he recommended that Vermont consider secession from the Union, according to the Brattleboro Reformer.

Thanks to Vermont Commons for bringing this to my attention.

Note: This post was altered 4/14/2008 to remove a broken link.

The Treaty of Paris

Speaking of International Law; it is noteworthy that the Treaty of Paris, which formally ended the First American Revolution, clearly states that the former American colonies "are, and ought to be, free and independent States". This treaty is signed by the then-king of England as well as representatives of the colonies that fought against British rule. This, and not the ratification of the Federal Constitution, is the freedom that they won.
It would be interesting to see if our British Allies today could see the wisdom of upholding this treaty and recognizing that our States are, and have always been, Free and Independent States. After all, their king did give his word....

"I need courage," said the lion

That line from The Wizard of Oz came to mind after reading Michael Tuggle's analysis of the Tibetan resistance to Chinese rule.

Freedom is never free, it is, as Thomas Jefferson said, "watered with the blood of patriots."

In admiration of their courage and as a reminder that we need courage of our own, I am adding the Free Tibet logo to this site.

Secession and international law

Professor Valerie Epps has written an interesting article for the Korea Times discussing the evolution of international law as it relates to state sovereignty, then applying it to the secession in Kosova and the recent conflict in Tibet. She stresses that the United Nations has generally walked a fine line between favoring the right of self-determination and opposition to secessionist movements, undoubtedly reflecting the desires of the existing member-states.

One point bears repeating: Small states are not inherently unstable. Prof. Epps cites Liechtenstein and Luxembourg as examples, but there are any number of small countries throughout the world that exist peacefully -- consider the small Caribbean and South Pacific island nations, the Arab sheikdoms, and African countries like Gambia, Lesotho, and Swaziland.

Bloodshed occurs, not because territories want to secede; but because the ruling élites in the larger nation do not want to give them up, and are willing to use force to keep them. It's as simple as that.

Secessionist takes: Lincoln and Immigration

Regular readers to this blog know that I frequently read (and occasionally quote from) the League of the South's blog Rebellion. While my endorsement of their content can be rather qualified, they do bring up some excellent points on topics of interest to all conservatives and secessionists, including these:

Those who praise Abraham Lincoln as the one who saved the Union usually do so without thinking about the price that was paid. As President, he more blatantly violated the Constitution than any other (the present one included). In this post Rebellion gives us a sort of theological take on the subject (Their link to Al Benson, Jr., elaborates; but has a stronger Southern slant than I would endorse).

The other post gives several quotations from America's founding fathers on immigration, which show considerably less enthusiasm for open borders than the American left has today.

My thanks to Michael Tuggle for providing the entire secessionist movement with some great source material!

Minimum price for US Treasury securities: $100

The US Treasury Department has announced that it will offer its bills notes and "inflation-protected" securities in denominations as low as $100, beginning in April. (Previously, the minimum was $1,000).

According to the Treasury press release:

"'U.S. Treasury securities, the world's safest, most liquid investments, should be accessible to the broadest universe of investors- large and small. The new, lower minimum Treasury amount will put marketable securities within reach of more savers and investors in the United States and around the world,' said Anthony Ryan, Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Financial
Markets. "

Ah yes ... "backed by the 'full faith and credit' of the United States." The Chinese, Arab oil sheiks, and Europeans used to think that. Now that foreign investors are switching from dollars to euros, the governmental entity that is $9,392,204,908,953.75 in debt* will just have to bilk its own people.

* As of March 20 (source)

"A More Perfect Union"

Sen. Barack Obama (left) certainly did distance himself from Rev. Wright's rhetoric, in one of the most beautiful and potentially powerful speeches I have read in some time. I encourage you to view it on his site, or to read it (this link is to the Drudge Report Flash site).

Clearly, this speech came from the heart, and is not the work of some spin doctor. It was an extremely courageous speech in a nation that has been gripped in fear of even discussing openly our racial issues. However, the test of a President's leadership is the ability to translate fine words into effective action; and his ability in this regard remains to be determined.

I do not want to be cynical. We need new hope for all our people. At the same time, the entrenched corporate kleptocracy will be difficult to dislodge. While I stand by my assertion that the United States is too large and complex to support a free government, I am willing to be proven wrong.

I shall wait and see what comes of it ...

Note for China

A word to the wise is sufficient...

If you want respect, act respectable.

Let go of Taiwan and Tibet, and listen to your own people. The benefits will far outweigh the drawbacks.

If we only had "more money"....

Well it seems that the result of decades of fraud is finally at hand, and everyday Americans are struggling to understand the cryptic jargon of the financial elite as they attempt to squirm their way out of a straightforward explanation for their behavior.

In a climate of rampant "debt speculation" loans have been made to people who cannot possibly pay them. Why these people accepted these loans is unclear, but the real question is: Why were they hade at all? The answer is that the mortgage lenders create money from nothing for the purpose of lending it. This loan is repaid by even more money which represent the value of the labor of the person who worked for it. At the end of the process, if the mortgage is repaid, the lender gets to keep the difference and the Fed gets their cut, and the extra money washes through the system. If the mortgage is not repaid, then the institution still created the money, the borrower still spent it, inflation still occurs, and the bank is left holding the deed to the home. Either way it's a pretty good deal.... for the bank, I mean.

This "extra" money that has been created dilutes the value of the preexisting money, which gives the appearance that prices have gone up, when in reality, it simply takes more of the paper dollars to equal same amount of "value". The apparent inflation of prices includes the price of the home in question, and lots of quasi-real money is said to accrue in the form of "equity". But don't be fooled.

Now that the number of people who, having fallen afoul of the other dying aspects of the economy (or having simply made a foolish decision in the first place, we don't know), are unable to make good on their debt, the rottenness of the financial "sector" and the interrelation of all of its components are coming into the spotlight. Everyone is terrified (justly) that they may be about to lose their livelihood due to artificial fluctuations in the economy... and of course, if the mortgage payers fail, then the banks fail - clearly something has to be done, and crowds of frightened and confused Americans cry out to their government, "Do something! Save us! You are all-powerful! Fix this reality!"

But reality is what it is and the Americans seem to have forgotten that it was never the government's job to make everything OK for everyone. Now they are hatching a plan for the Fed to "guarantee" these loans. What that means is this: the Federal Reserve System has been authorized to create money out of absolutely nothing and use it to "buy" these loans. This guarantees the solvency of all the lending institutions involved, whether they had been pursuing sound lending policies up to this point or not. It also means that the Federal Reserve System, and not any other lending agency, now becomes the holder of the deed to that property. The speculators will have been rewarded because they really took no risk at all, and the person holding the mortgage sleeps with sound relief until....

....the money that was created from nothing floods into the money supply. It will quite suddenly take many more dollars to purchase anything and everything, because the value of the individual dollars has been diluted. Since the individual's paycheck, denominated in dollars, will not go up correspondingly, that individual will have lost purchasing power, even though they may in fact be receiving "more money".

So there are three really simple facts that everyone should try to keep in mind:



1) The banks and mortgage institutions will be profiting, and everyone whose income is denominated in dollars is going to be paying for it;

2) If you let the Federal government pay your mortgage, don't be surprised when they start acting like they own your house - because they will; and

3) None of this hocus-pocus would be possible if these jokers actually had to raise real money to finance these schemes, as would be the case in a 100% specie economy.



Oh, one other thing. Another way that money can be added to the money supply is from outside. Many of these nearly-insolvent "investment" firms are being "liquidated", or sold to investors. But since everyone in the US is struggling, they are being sold to foreign investors, who just happen to have large amounts of dollars they have amassed over the last few decades. These dollars are losing value too and the foreigners would love to convert them into something of real value, like euros, or oil, or your family's house.

The way "out" of this is not to increase bureaucracy, add government regulation, and give even more power to the Fed. The way "out" of this is "through" it: let it happen, learn from it, and pick up the pieces.

Knowing Wright and wrong

The Presidential candidate whom one of my fellow Ohio bloggers is fond of calling “BOOHOO” * has for a pastor the Rev. Jeremiah Wright (right), who according to Thomas Sowell and ABC News, reportedly invoked Divine damnation upon the United States of America †

Such a statement, especially coming from a minister of a Christian denomination, is blasphemous and obscene. Blasphemous, because he is assuming that he knows better than God what God should do; obscene, because he is assuming that America is inherently evil. Those who express the contrary sentiment in the song “God Bless America” usually do so as a prayer that America would be worthy of God’s blessing, rather than taking for granted that the nation is worthy of it.

I expect that, if Sen. Obama attends a service where such a sentiment is expressed, he will walk out and publicly distance himself from such remarks. (He didn't walk out, but he certainly did distance himself. See update)

There is no inconsistency between this stand and my advocacy of Ohio independence. I am not angry with America, but am saddened by how it has changed. America was founded on an idea that remains as great today as it was two centuries ago. In the last forty years, we have allowed that idea to wither in our pursuit of imperial dreams and wanton materialism. However, I do not believe that our founders’ vision can be restored in a nation as vast and diverse as the United States is today. My vision for the Ohio Republic is a restoration of the original concept of free government, one that prizes liberty above security, and which welcomes the input of every Ohioan into the life of their community and nation.


* With a separate link for each letter: see Bizzyblog
† I am avoiding the exact phrase to prevent search engines from locating The Ohio Republic on it.