Nullification, then if necessary, independence

My opinion of Vermont independence activist Thomas Naylor is similar to the one I have of his compatriot Kirkpatrick Sale. For whatever flaws they have as leaders, they are strong theorists. I just read a piece by Mr. Naylor in his Second Vermont Republic advocating a change in terminology from secession to liberation. Mr. Naylor writes:

As secessionists we need gradually to wean ourselves away from the use of the word secession and replace it with the more positive term, nonviolent liberation. We should refer to ourselves as a liberation movement rather than as a secession movement. The Civil War ended a long time ago and with it ended the possibility of ever having an intelligent conversation about the merits of secession. Among American political, media, academic, spiritual, and literary leaders secession remains strictly taboo.

He makes a highly valid point about the word secession, judging from my own experience with the word. Thanks to Lincoln, we can be sure that we will not turn the hearts of Ohioans with the word secession.

However, I also have problems with liberation. For me (and I think most right-of-Obama Ohioans) the word carries strong Communist connotations, as in the various Marxist "liberation" movements in the Third World during the Cold War, and even Patty Hearst's Symbionese Liberation Army. Liberation movements were ruthlessly violent. While Mr. Naylor himself is advocating nonviolent liberation, I suggest that the phrase is semantically self-contradictory.*

This blog advocates, and will continue to advocate, independence if all lesser efforts fail. Technically, it will meet the criteria for secession, and for liberation; but will be much more effective in capturing the hearts of patriotic Ohioans who seek to regain their freedom.

While I will not go back and change the words of every previous post (with nearly 900 posts, that would be a daunting task), I have removed references to secession from the labels. Secessionism is now Liberation from DC, and Ohio and secession is now Ohio Independence.

One more thing. Por favór, please keep Ché Guevara off our flags. He was a Communist murderer, not a freedom fighter.

* Or for readers who have enhanced vocabularies: oxymoronic.

Kerfuffle in Vermont

There has been a long-standing argument in Vermont about the relationship between Kirkpatrick Sale, certain Vermont secessionists and the League of the South, which has led a certain observer to conclude that the Vermont secessionist movement is "white supremacist."

I have been aware of this for nearly three years, and have chosen to ignore it for the most obvious of reasons -- it's not my battle. The only reason I bring it up now is that Prof. Sale has made a reference to The Ohio Republic that calls for a brief disclaimer.

Two years ago, I made the acquaintance of Sebastian Ronin, a secessionist in Nova Scotia, who wanted to develop a North American secessionist organization that would consist of elected representatives from legitimate, active organizations. At that time, I agreed to assist him in the effort to organize a "North American Secessionist Congress" that was to have been held in October 2009. The initial organizational efforts indicated to us that too few organizations would support such an effort, and it was abandoned.

This prompted Prof. Sale to make the following comment:

I would suggest that we have nothing to do with his call for a congress--and indeed I see no sign of any real group supporting him. He has one ally in Ohio, but that's another website individual, not a real secessionist organization.

Since then, Mr. Ronin has moved on to organize a group known as the Renaissance Party of North America, whose website I have reviewed; and in my opinion, it espouses certain values that I would associate with white supremacism. Soon after he began the movement more than a year ago, I defriended him in Facebook and have had only one further contact with him by e-mail. Thus, Prof. Sale's assertion that Mr. Ronin has "one ally in Ohio" is based on very outdated information.

The experience has led me to the conclusion that there is little value to forming any secessionist group on a continental scale. The desire for independence and the resources to achieve it must come from within each state on its own, in its own way.

I am not affiliated with any political or secessionist organization outside the State of Ohio, and have no desire to join any such organization. Within Ohio, I am a member of the Ohio Freedom Alliance and the Ohio Libertarian Party -- and I have made no secret about either one.

As to Prof. Sale's reference to me as "another website individual, not a real secessionist organization," I never claimed to be anything else.

Vermont Independence Day

Today is Vermont Independence Day, commemorating the date in 1777 that Vermont declared its own independence, not only from Great Britain, but from New Hampshire and New York as well; however, Vermont's separation from those states was not recognized until it became the 14th state, in 1791. It is for this reason that one of its leading secessionist organizations is known as the Second Vermont Republic. The green flag was that of Ethan Allen's Green Mountain Boys during the American Revolution, and is the symbol of the Vermont independence movement.

Vermont's secessionist sentiment is clearly displayed in these two photos from American Independence Day parades in that state.

Virtual buckeye to Vermont Commons.

Dennis Steele asks the tough questions

Second Vermont Republic advocate Thomas Naylor can get a little irritating sometimes, but when he makes a point, he packs a punch.

Vermont secessionist candidate for Governor Dennis Steele stunned his opponents at a recent debate in Hyde Park, when he asked them, “If you are elected governor, will you do everything in your power to bring home the Vermont National Guard troops from Afghanistan and Iraq and block any future attempts by the Federal Government to deploy them overseas? And if you are unsuccessful in bringing the Vermont troops home, will you call for Vermont to secede from the Union?”

Mr. Naylor reports:

Without exception the five neoliberal Democrats lined up behind the U.S. Commander in Chief marching in lockstep to the beat of the American Empire’s drum. They summarily rejected the idea of intervention on behalf of the Vermont National Guard troops to bring them home sooner. They made it abundantly clear that their loyalty lies first and foremost with the Empire, not with the people of Vermont. (Emphasis added).

His comment:

How is it possible that [they] continue to pledge their allegiance to the most materialistic, most racist, most militaristic, most violent empire of all-time? An empire which is owned, operated, and controlled by Wall Street, Corporate America, and the Israeli Lobby. They ought to be ashamed of themselves.

We need to ask the same question of Gov. Strickland, Mr. Kasich, Mr. Spisak, and Mr. Matesz.* Where is their allegiance -- to the Empire, or to the people who will elect them?

* The latter two candidates represent the Green and Libertarian Parties, respectively.

Vermont Secession Strategy

The Middlebury Institute e-newsletter announced today the strategy to be followed by the Second Vermont Republic and the nine (was seven) secessionist candidates for Vermont governor, lieutenant governor, and state senate. While director Kirkpatrick Sale notes that "it is (very) specific to Vermont," he believes (and I agree) that much of the strategy should be of interest to secessionists everywhere.

VERMONT SECESSION STRATEGY

The Problem: The American Empire is the largest, wealthiest, most powerful, most materialistic, most racist, most militaristic, most violent empire of all time. It is owned, operated, and controlled by Wall Street, Corporate America, and the Israeli Lobby. It has lost its moral authority and is unsustainable, ungovernable, and, therefore, unfixable.

Opportunities:

1. The Vermont Mystique. Classic red barns, covered bridges, the picturesque patchwork pattern of small farms, black-and-white Holsteins, tiny villages, little rivers, ridges, hollows, valleys, and dirt roads.

2. The Vermont Village Green. A place where people meet to chat, have a coffee, a locally brewed beer, a glass of wine, or a bite to eat; read a newspaper; listen to music; smell the flowers; and pass the time away. A place which is all about the politics of human scale---small towns, small businesses, small schools, and small churches. The village green is neat, clean, democratic, radical, nonviolent, noncommercial, egalitarian, and humane. A mirror image of the way America once was but no longer knows how to be.

3. David and Goliath Image. What could be more absurd than tiny Vermont, the second smallest state in the United States in terms of population, confronting the most powerful empire in history? The image of Vermont as an underdog is not likely to go unnoticed.

Challenges:
1. Neoconservatives. The Republican Party, Fox News, The Wall Street Journal, and CNBC. [Vermont] Governor Jim Douglas, Lt. Governor Brian Dubie, the Ethan Allen Institute [John McClaughry], and True North Radio.

2. Neoliberals. The Democratic Party, most of the national media including ABC, CBS, MSNBC, CNN, PBS, and PBR. Senator Bernie Sanders, Senator Patrick Leahy, Congressman Peter Welch, and their political
supporters.

Objectives: The peaceable return of Vermont to its status as an independent republic [1777-91] and the peaceable dissolution of the American Empire.

Goals:
1. Political independence by 2015.
2. Dissolution of the American Empire by 2020.

Strategies:
1. Moral Authority. Challenge the moral authority of the U.S. Government, Senator Bernie Sanders, Senator Patrick Leahy, Congressman Peter Welch, and all of their collaborators.

2. Swiss Model. Unabashedly embrace the socio-economic, political model of Switzerland, the most sustainable nation-state of all time.

3. Imagine…Free Vermont. Launch a new political party whose aim is to elect state government officials and members of the legislature committed to Vermont independence. Once the party has a majority in the legislature, a motion will be introduced calling for a statewide convention to consider articles of secession. After these articles of secession have been approved by a two-thirds majority of the convention delegates, negotiations will begin with the United States Government for the peaceable departure of Vermont from the Union.

4. Vermont Commons. Develop the economic, agricultural, energy, and environmental foundations necessary to support a sustainable, politically independent Free Vermont.

5. Radio Free Vermont. Sow the seeds of peaceable rebellion against the Empire through Vermont-based music produced by Vermont musicians.

6. Outreach. Through the Middlebury Institute, the website SecessionNews.com, and other networks, reach out to other independence movements in the United States and elsewhere.

7. Finance. Utilize modern Internet-based social-network technology to raise money to finance the activities of the SVR Strategic Alliance.

The Regressive Movement

Sticomythia at Vermont Commons returned from a town meeting last night, and the natives are getting restless:

Just came from the Ripton Town Meeting. Folks are uneasy. We have excellent management, excellent intentions, great visions... but we're having the life sucked out of us by the US Empire: its wars, racism, cruelty and waste of human potential.

And there's the rub. How can we achieve a green, peaceful Vermont, within such an Empire? Our State representative gave us some unfortunate numbers from the State budget. I confronted him with the actual numbers, already presented to the legislature, which show a $1.2 billion a year give-away to huge corporations. This puts the entire tax burden squarely on people who work for a living, and small-to-medium size business. Of course there's a crisis, but the crisis is entirely unnecessary. His reply was to plead ignorance of the situation.

A very brave lady then spoke up, declared that 'it is not about numbers, it is about real people'. I bow to her on this essential fact.

Our management are excellent, yet they have failed us. They need to decide whether their loyalty is to the Empire, or to their people in Vermont. Choose the Empire, and they must be confronted and voted out. Most are Democrats, whose opposition to the Bush wars fell silent the moment the Bush wars became Obama's even bigger wars, and our Guard were federalised and sent off to Afghanistan.

How much sacrifice can we endure? How long will our representatives ask us to turn our backs on the needy, cutting programs and care to those who can least afford to lose it, before we say 'Enough is Enough'? (Emphasis added)

This is a liberal concern, which should help give the lie to those who think liberty activists are all rightist wingnuts. A more libertarian question would be "How long will our representatives continue to frustrate our efforts to provide personal assistance and opportunities to the needy, before we say 'Enough is Enough'?

The writer concludes:

The Green Mountain State has championed many progressive causes and elected a socialist Senator. But it's still part of an uneasy empire, and some people want out of the "big muddy."

The link includes two related videos.

Vermont secessionists form slate for state offices

According to the Associated Press (this link to the Los Angeles Times), Vermont secessionists are fielding candidates for Governor, Lieutenant Governor, and seven State Senate seats. They are not organized as a political party, but as an informal coalition. The spin on the article not surprisingly pooh-poohs their chances of winning -- but it marks another step forward for American secessionism. Vermont is only the second state in modern times (after Alaska and its Alaska Independence Party), to offer a secessionist slate of candidates for statewide office.



I can guarantee you that it will not be the last.

The mainstream media are beginning to notice

... that secessionists aren't a bunch of lonely kooks on the outside.

This article from the Ft. Worth Star-Telegram notes that movements are developing all across North America, not just Texas. In addition to the Texas independence movements and Larry Kilgore's candidacy for Texas governor in 2010, the article mentions the Second Vermont Republic and Cascadia (in the Pacific Northwest).

It also lists laws passed in Montana and Tennessee nullifying Federal law for firearms produced in-state, a proposed state Constitutional amendment in Arizona to opt the state out of proposed federal healthcare mandates, and resolutions in nearly two dozen states to refuse participation in the Real ID Act (which requires state drivers' licenses and ID cards to meet federal standards).

The article also brings up a great opportunity for Ohio anti-war activists, a burgeoning movement to "Bring the Guard Home", which is pushing legislation in 23 states to empower governors to recall state National Guard units from Iraq on the grounds that the federal law authorizing the deployments has expired.

Nothing earth-shaking yet, but definitely an indicator of things to come.

Sept. 22 update: Now, Lou Dobbs has joined Glenn Beck in discussing the Tenth Amendment (and to a limited extent, secessionism) on his radio show. And like Glenn Beck, he is catching his share of liberal namecalling.

Virtual buckeyes to Old Rebel at Rebellion for both the original article and the update.

The struggle for freedom is non-partisan

Many people have the misconception that the State sovereignty and secessionist movements are a partisan phenomenon -- Republicans sore about losing last year. I have previously noted that this not true -- there are Democrats who sponsor state sovereignty resolutions*; and the movement is truly broad-based.

As proof, I submit the following article, reprinted in its entirety from Vermont Commons. It's author, Dan Weintraub is a Democratic candidate for Congress in 2010. His list of issues certainly addresses traditional Democrat concerns.

So, let's hear no more about State sovereignty being a "right-wing" or "Republican" issue -- the cause of freedom is the cause of us all.

"We Fight This Battle For Our Kids

"Today I read a troubling tale. Seems the government has taken yet one more step toward destroying whatever vestige of sovereignty the American people currently retain in this failing nation of ours:

"From lvrj.com via ML Implode: '...There was no indication what they were looking for or what crime, if any, was being investigated, just a blanket subpoena for voluminous and detailed records on every private citizen who dared to speak about a federal tax case...'

"It is time to fight back. In fact, it is well past time that we fought back. We are late, and the clock is ticking. Below I will reprint a piece that I penned in prior months. But before I do so, let me add one quick thought.

"As you know, I am running for Congress in 2010 (http://weintraub2010.com/). I am running as a Democrat in Vermont, and I plan upon defeating Peter Welch in the fall of '10 and heading to Washington to do battle with an establishment that has utterly perverted our Constitutional Democracy and that has left the middle class
out to dry. And I will NOT be silenced. My kids are counting on me. And armed with the TRUTH, my voice is going to be heard.

"I promise you that.

"Friday, December 12, 2008
"March To The Sea And Make Salt

"Satya is the Sanskrit word for 'truth'; agraha means 'great enthusiasm and interest'. The two words combined may be rendered as 'the firmness of truth.' The term was popularized during the Indian Independence Movement, and is used in many Indian languages including Hindi. It can also mean 'the force of truth.' On March 12, 1930, Gandhi and 78 male satyagrahis set out on foot for the coastal village of Dandi, Gujarat, 390 kilometres (240 mi) from their starting point at Sabarmati Ashram. At Aslali, and the other villages that the march passed through, volunteers collected donations, registered new satyagrahis, and received resignations from village officials who chose to end cooperation with British rule. As they entered each village, crowds greeted the marchers, beating drums and cymbals. Gandhi gave speeches attacking the salt tax as inhuman, and the salt satyagraha as a 'poor man's battle.' Each night they slept in the open, asking of the villagers nothing more than simple food and a place to rest and wash. Gandhi felt that this would bring the poor into the battle for independence, necessary for eventual victory. Thousands of satyagrahis and leaders like Sarojini Naidu joined him. Every day, more and more people joined the march. At Surat, they were greeted by 30,000 people. Near the end of the march, Gandhi declared, 'I want world sympathy in this battle of Right against Might.' (from Wikipedia)

"It is time that the power of truth be brought to bear on the 'powers-that-be' who, through their collective greed and criminality, have placed the entire world in great peril. The actions of the men of Wall Street and the Men of Capitol Hill have left an entire world on the brink of ruin. Hope for many is already gone. These men have chosen to sacrifice billions of us on the alter of avarice. Their mansions and yachts are testimonies to our poverty, their lavish homes a reminder of our homelessness, their Thanksgiving feasts a symbol of our hunger.

"And at the heart of it all, of all of the suffering heaped upon the backs of billions of people, are the lies. The power of truth has been beaten down by the forces of greed and gluttony. We rationalize the 30 million dollar salary of the CEO as being justly earned based upon the amount of wealth that his corporation creates, but now of course we know that it is all a lie. Wealth based upon 'growth' that is in fact debt (leverage) is not wealth at all, it is fraud. But the greedy nonetheless use this debt as the collateral they need to live in their mansions and drive their Mercedes and sail on their yachts, while the rest of us are left to repay these debts through taxes and cuts in services to the poor and our own debt-servitude. And all of the men in power are complicit in this lie, all of the governmental agencies that have facilitated the lies are guilty of damning the rest of us to nothing more than poverty. And as Gandhi said, poverty is the worst form of violence. And the list of lies is truly endless:

- Accounting Fraud
- Lending Fraud
- Asset Valuation Fraud (Mark-To-Fantasy)
- Ponzi Fraud
- Unemployment Reporting Fraud
- Tax Fraud - Insider Trading Fraud
- Derivatives Fraud
- TARP Fraud
- Securities Fraud
- WMD [Weapons of Mass Destruction] Fraud
- Fractional Reserve Banking Fraud
- Currency Fraud
- Keynesian Fraud
- Election Fraud

"Obviously an epic list, and all perpetrated by the wealthy and powerful in order to perpetuate the system, at any and all costs. And now we are the cost, and for the liars, that is an acceptable price to pay. Our lives, the lives of billions of people, our suffering, our hunger, are acceptable to the wealthy and powerful. When will enough be enough? Maybe it is time that we March To The Sea, And Make Salt."

* John Will Stacy is not only a Democrat, he is the Majority Whip in the Kentucky House.

Resisting the Empire

Let there be no mistake about it. Resisting the mighty Empire in Washington will require all the civil courage we can muster, and more! If we act peacefully, we will in our demonstrations and discussions be doing what was once expected of ordinary citizens. Today, however, we risk being arrested for doing the same things, as Lisa Nash documents in a Vermont Commons post about a quiet little demonstration against a power project in Brattleboro.

She writes about her husband, who runs a small electrical cooperative, feeling an inner conflict between his desire for business-as-usual, and that of supporting the rights of the demonstrators who were arrested at the request of the speaker (the Governor of Vermont).

If we are to preserve liberty in these difficult times, we will need every ounce of character we can muster, and then need to pray for more.

Imagining Health Care

There is no reason we can't reform health care on the State level; but it will take imagination, and thinking outside the ER. It will have to leverage physicians, hospitals, insurers, educators, and the Departments of Health and Job & Family Services to make the best use of limited resources to promote healthy Ohioans through real prevention, as well as cure.

Lisa Nash is beginning a series of articles in Vermont Commons on imagineering a health care system for the future Republic of Vermont. I invite you to join her for the ride.

State Sovereignty Update - 3/24

Idaho's State Sovereignty Resolution, HJM 4, passed the House of Representatives by a vote of 51-17, with 2 abstentions.

One State is conspicuous by its absence from this list. Why isn't Vermont introducing a resolution?

An African-Vermonter favors secession

Ian Baldwin finds himself swimming upstream in an article for Culture Change. A co-founder of the E. F. Schumacher Society and contributor to Vermont Commons, he understands the significance of President Obama's election, but ...

"I voted for Barack Obama for many reasons, if not out of political conviction. I am entangled. Entangled by history, by family, by friends, by a sense of justice and honor toward those fellow human beings my Euro-American tribe first enslaved and then segregated as non-equals. Human beings who are finally honored and respected without any equivocation. Set free. For them I am moved -- not for the United States.

"For the United States the hour is late, very late.

"Any one of you who have African-American friends knows how deep, how absolute and complete Mr. Obama’s election to the office of the U.S. presidency is for them, in particular. The meaning of this achievement lies unbounded by words, unshakable in the hearts of our African-American brothers and sisters.

"I am a lone secessionist in a large community of family and friends, almost all of whom (not quite all!), starting with my walk-beside, my own wife, do not share this peculiar dream of mine. So, even if the Vermont secessionist movement grows, despite Vermonters’ overwhelming vote for Mr. Obama and his promise of change, what about New Mexico or North Carolina or Massachusetts or anywhere else in the multitude of Empire’s diverse homelands, where secession still sleeps? I have daughters, sons, granddaughters, every imaginable in-law, a mother, brothers, cousins, and friends who live all over America and for that matter, the world. Thus mindful, if I look at, if I sense the man Obama presents in the media, I see a smile that feels true, eyes that betray more than a hint of unmalicious humor, a face that reflects the joy of being connected to others -- in short, a mensch, not a trickster. "

At the very least, this should help discredit Edward Sebesta's assertion that secessionism is inherently racist.

In the remainder of the longish article, Mr. Baldwin describes his intellectual journey toward decentralism and secession. He finds it ironic that President Obama takes office at the very time the United States is starting to founder. He repeats Sebastian Ronin's observations about peak oil and the urgency of building secessionist movements now, or face chaos later.

"In cities, neighborhoods, towns, suburbs, rural villages, bioregions everywhere the forces of liberty and innovation and local self-reliance are going to surge, with or without Empire. We must hold our stand on the land, pull down the flag that signals our forlorn allegiance to Empire, and hoist a new flag, founded on a new allegiance -- to liberty and unity in one small place."

For him, that is the Green Mountain flag of Vermont. For us, it's the Burgee.

Happy Independence Day, Vermont!

Today is the anniversary of Vermont's independence, not only from Great Britain, but also of New York and New Hampshire; which they maintained from 1777 until their ratification of the United States Constitution in 1791.

The constitution they adopted (accessible from the link above) is a very interesting precursor to the Constitution of the United States.

Best wishes, Vermont, not only for a happy celebration; but that the day will come soon when Vermont enjoys liberty in its Second Republic.

Virtual buckeye to Rob Williams at Vermont Commons.

Independence: more than political change

This post from Seven Days, an independent newspaper in Vermont, returns me to one of The Ohio Republic's earlier themes: that independence has to be economic and cultural, as well as political. This article cites many constructive actions that we can take in Ohio (whose largest industry is, remember, agriculture) to reduce our dependence on far away sources of food and daily necessities. It ends with the kinds of questions we should be asking ourselves -- in place of refighting a war that took place nearly 150 years ago.

Why secession is such a tough sell

When I discuss secession to friends and acquaintances, the usual first reaction is that I have completely taken leave of my senses. The objections I encounter happen to be the same as those Thomas Naylor (of the Second Vermont Republic) very effectively addresses in his essay "12 Reasons Why Secession Is Still Such a Tough Sell in Vermont and Elsewhere." All of his reasons and his answers are as valid for Ohio as they are for Vermont -- and some may be more so given Ohio's much larger population and economy.

His concluding point, however, is the most worrisome. He says that Vermonters are complacent (but you could substitute Ohio for Vermont throughout this paragraph).

"Most Vermonters are too fat and happy to ever consider the possibility of actually confronting the American Empire. So ingrained in the Vermont psyche is the myth of Lincoln that our problems will have to become a lot worse before a majority of Vermonters will seriously consider secession as the ultimate form of rejection of a doomed nation. That day may be closer than most imagine.

"When all is said and done, there is but one word to describe why secession is such a tough sell. That word is ignorance."

I will add that Prof. Naylor has written an important new, and appropriately titled, new book on secession. I have not yet had the opportunity to read it; but having read some of his other work, I am sure it will be well worth reading.

The Case for Secession

"The Case for Vermont's Secession," by Frank Bryan, was published in Vermont Commons in 2005. Its arguments could just as well apply to Ohio's secession (in some particulars even more so: Vermont gets $1.15 from the Feds for every dollar sent, Ohio only gets $1.03). And nobody will call a nation of 11.5 million people a "cute little republic". (Ohio's population is comparable to Chile and Hungary). We might need more military than Vermont to cover a larger, flatter land area; but for self-defense, we will need much less than Washington would have us believe.

Read it for its logic, and for its faithfulness to what we have traditionally prized about America.

Does the Union even exist anymore?

Here is a challenge for the attorneys in our audience, from a letter to the editor of Vermont Commons:

Dear Vermont Commons Editor,
As April 15th approaches and the populace sends its tribute to the Emperor, here's a theater piece that I'd like to see:

I'd like to see a stage full of lawyers debating whether or not this political construct called the United States of America actually exists any more. I'm willing to bet that there is not one lawyer anywhere on the planet that could successfully argue that the political construct which the Founding Fathers envisioned and which the Constitution defines is still in existence -- eitherin this dimension or in any other!

In fact, I bet some of the history students at BUHS [a high school in Vermont] could wipe the floor with one lawyer after another. Let's get the best and the brightest up here ... Alan Dershowitz, for example, to argue that it is our moral imperative to bomb and torture one-third of the planet -- as I'm sure he would argue. And that, yes, it is the American way!

What do you say? Are there any lawyers out there who would take me up on my challenge? It would be great fun. It could go on for weeks--a marathon theater piece. And, in the end, we'd be faced with having to answer these questions: What happened to the United States? And just what exactly has this country become?

Jacqueline Brook
Putney, Vermont

I'd love to see it in Ohio, especially given the passionate support the Empire still enjoys among a portion of our populaton!

I hope he's wrong, but with his track record...

The Rutland (Vt.) Herald reports on a speech at Middlebury College by Scott Ritter, the head weapons inspector in Iraq who protested that there were no weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. Now, Mr. Ritter has presented some evidence that the United States is preparing for war with Iran, which Mr. Ritter correctly argues "would hasten the ongoing decline of American standing in the world," enabling Russia and China to fill the resulting vacuum.

Congress appears to be complicit in this plan, having approved funding for additional "bunker-busting" bombs and the bombers to carry them; both with contract completion dates this month.

Interestingly, he began his talk by talking about spring, and how mother birds will feed their young by "puking" [Mr. Ritter's word] into each one. He used that reference in his closing statement:

"'It is far too easy to look for people to blame,' he said. For instance, 'we blame the media, but the media simply give us what we're asking for.'

"Everyone needs to start understanding and caring about their Constitutional rights, and everyone needs to start finding the facts for themselves and taking strong individual stands, Ritter said. If you do nothing but take in what the TV and newspapers tell you, 'all you're going to get in return is puke.'"

I don't think The Ohio Republic has left much room for doubt as to its position on a war with Iran; but in case you do not want to follow the link, let me reiterate the conclusion:

A war with Iran will be a catastrophe from which the United States of America, as we now know it, will never recover. Not financially. Not politically. Not militarily. Not economically. Not ever.

Thanks to Vermont Commons for bringing this to my attention.

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.