Editorial
Secession: Are We Free To Go?
Is all the recent talk of secession mere sour grapes over the election, or perhaps something deeper? Currently there are active petitions in support of secession for all 50 states, with Texas taking the lead in number of signatures. Texas has well over the number of signatures needed to generate a response from the administration, and while I wouldn't hold my breath on Texas actually seceding, I believe these petitions raise a lot of worthwhile questions about the nature of our union.
Is it treasonous to want to secede from the United States? Many think the question of secession was settled by our Civil War. On the contrary; the principles of self-governance and voluntary association are at the core of our founding. Clearly, Thomas Jefferson believed secession was proper, albeit as a last resort. Writing to William Giles in 1825, he concluded that states:
"should separate from our companions only when the sole alternatives left, are the dissolution of our Union with them, or submission to a government without limitation of powers."
Keep in mind that the first and third paragraphs of the Declaration of Independence expressly contemplate the dissolution of a political union when the underlying government becomes tyrannical.
Do we have a "government without limitation of powers" yet? The Federal government kept the Union together through violence and force in the Civil War, but did might really make right?
Secession is a deeply American principle. This country was born through secession. Some felt it was treasonous to secede from England but those "traitors" became our country's greatest patriots.
There is nothing treasonous or unpatriotic about wanting a federal government that is more responsive to the people it represents. That is what our Revolutionary War was all about and today our own federal government is vastly overstepping its constitutional bounds with no signs of reform. In fact, the recent election only further entrenched the status quo. If the possibility of secession is completely off the table there is nothing to stop the federal government from continuing to encroach on our liberties and no recourse for those who are sick and tired of it.
Consider the ballot measures that passed in Colorado and Washington state regarding marijuana laws. The people in those states have clearly indicated that they are ready to try something different where drug policy is concerned, yet they will still face a tremendous threat from the federal government. In California, the Feds have been arresting peaceful medical marijuana users and raiding dispensaries that state and local governments have sanctioned. This shouldn't happen in a free country.
It remains to be seen what will happen in states that are refusing to comply with the deeply unpopular mandates of Obamacare by not setting up healthcare exchanges. It appears the federal government will not respect those decisions, either.
In a free country, governments derive their power from the consent of the governed. When the people have very clearly withdrawn their consent for a law, the discussion should be over. If the Feds refuse to accept that and continue to run roughshod over the people, at what point do we acknowledge that that is not freedom anymore? At what point should the people dissolve the political bands which have connected them with an increasingly tyrannical and oppressive federal government? And if people or states are not free to leave the United States as a last resort, can they really think of themselves as free?
If a people cannot secede from an oppressive government, they cannot truly be considered free.
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Posted by econfree on 11/22/12 09:34 PM
And let Texas set an example to all other states of what it is to really see a state that allows reform in monetary policy and the existence of genuine free market.
On another note, if the email from Wealth Wire that I received this morning is really true that "the central bank of central banks" has finally decided the re-entry of gold into our monetary system, then I think though Ron Paul has already gone out of US Congress, his consistent ideas for the past 20 years have won at last.
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Posted by aebe on 11/21/12 11:42 PM
Click to view linkcede ? Why give up any part of our America ?
Better,if we reject,and then eject,our current government,and set course for new elections.And not allow the political parties any part in managing them,or forcing candidates upon us.
Surely the Constitution does give us the right to do that.
I am partial to tar and feathers,and run out of the country on a rail.Sharp edged,splintery,feet tied together so falling off is not a simple thing,rail.
Validate your 2nd Amendment Click to view linkrry.
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Posted by 1776 on 11/21/12 04:41 PM
Your liberties are once again hanging by a thread. As little as five votes, in fact. Next week, the lame-duck U.S. Senate will take up the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). And the statists will do virtually anything to keep the power to lock up American citizens at will and throw them in prison forever without so much as a trial - effectively GUTTING the Sixth Amendment in the process.
The good news is Senator Rand Paul is offering an amendment to prevent the indefinite detention of American citizens and reaffirm the Sixth Amendment. Last time he tried a similar effort, it only failed by five votes, and you and I had very little time to mobilize against this outrageous assault on our liberties. That's why I'm hopeful with your IMMEDIATE action today, we can DEFEAT the indefinite detention provision of the NDAA. So won't you please agree to call your senators IMMEDIATELY?
Tell them to REJECT the indefinite detention of American citizens and vote against any defense authorization bill that includes such an abuse of power. Demand they support Senator Rand Paul's amendment upholding our rights. You can reach them at the numbers I've provided for you below.
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Posted by seer on 11/20/12 09:22 PM
The original colonies would Never have consented to the Union if they believed there was No Way out. On the other hand, The Civil war proved might makes right and any serious threat to withdrawal would bring a lot of social upheaval. While this might occur down the road, if the living conditions become much worse I do not foresee anything in the near future.
"If a people cannot secede from an oppressive government, they cannot truly be considered free." In theory this sounds great but in reality it may be another matter.
The Revolutionary War was led by Merchant leaders who had the most to gain from secession. The East India Tea company was underselling John Hancock's bootlegged Tea. The taxes were not as harsh as the sanitized history books portray. Nonetheless, it seems this secession may have been inevitable given the distance from England. England was certainly out for England.
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Posted by victorbarney on 11/20/12 04:06 PM
Ron, the good news is that we actually are "Israel" by the seed of Joseph, not Judah(Gen. 48:16), which clinically has been proven by England(i.e., "sun never sets on the British Empire"). In other words, it will be the two-witnesses of Revelation, chapter 11 that punishes u.s., neither Obama or his marxist/islamic caliphate against u.s. In fact, we getting punished first, is consistent with Revelation, chapter 18:10 plainly stating that BABYLON IRAQ IMMEDIATELY IS TOTALLY DESTROYED AT THE VERY SECOND THAT OUR SAVIOR REURNS TO EARTH! Read it, it's written and EASY to understand!!! Again, just saying, what is written, is written...
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Posted by dimitri on 11/20/12 01:31 PM
The secession thing is a main stream propaganda meme. It's design purpose is to perpetuate fear of loss of law and order among those addicted to authoritarianism. Libertarians will latch on to it in droves for the same reason despite their intricate sophistry to the contrary.
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Posted by Abu Aardvark on 11/20/12 11:13 AM
@ 1776
Your tax dollars at work:
"The Homeland Security Department spent $430 million on a fruitless plan to enable radio users departmentwide to communicate on the same frequency, according to a new audit released Tuesday by an internal watchdog.
Of 479 radio users the DHS inspector general tested, only one knew how to tune into the common channel, the report stated. Personnel either were unaware the channel existed, could not find it, or switched to an outdated channel inherited from the Treasury Department.
'Personnel do not have interoperable communications that they can rely on during daily operations, planned events and emergencies,' acting IG Charles K. Edwards wrote in the report."
Click to view link
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Posted by Abu Aardvark on 11/20/12 09:33 AM
By the way, this is the result when you try to ignore the Ron Paul Movement ...
Click to view link
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Posted by Abu Aardvark on 11/20/12 08:55 AM
'Salon', the 'progressive liberal online magazine', is not amused by Dr. Paul being 'cool with secession'. Get this:
"After the election, a number of petitions emerged promoting the idea of red states fleeing Obama's America, something that we thought went out of fashion in the 1860s. Pro-secession petitions hosted on the White House website that allows citizens to start letter-signing campaigns garnered almost 700,000 signatures from all 50 states. Soon, white nationalists, neo-Nazis and Ku Klux Klan sympathizers cast their lot with disgruntled conservatives."
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Posted by rossbcan on 11/20/12 07:51 AM
partial crosspost...
Forceful resistance to secession (freedom to associate which includes freedom to "not associate" and to define terms of association) is the natural response of those (predators) whom insist that others "associate, as slaves" when confronted with "no, we refuse to associate on your unilaterally decreed terms". Bear in mind, exactly whom is "initiating aggression" (REAL definition of "criminal), in this absurd, but historically recurring situation:
Click to view link
So, what are YOU gonna do?:
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Action / Inaction will spawn consequences integrating to tomorrow's reality, as today's reality reacts to forces applied, by all parties. Today's reality is a consequence of past actions / inactions, by all actors.
So, are we free to go? Not so long as we accept / respect the legitimacy of the OPINIONS of those who "bait and switch" "might is right" for fact, reason and objective law.
Defer and, YOU have consented to the decree of your masters that you remain a serf in their hiarchical machine, serving THEM.
Dissent and, YOU have CHOSEN to FIGHT for freedom, which is far from "free", since it is a product of asserting self-determination and personal responsibliity. In fact, subversion of personal responsibility with "entitlements" is what destroyed its corollory, freedom.
Survival EQUALS ability to adapt to environment EQUALS ability to CHOOSE correctly EQUALS freedom:
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