Call it The Free World Federation, and open it to accession by any state in the world which subscribes to same ideas and ideals, and accepts its Constitution and Founding Principles.

Declare yourself protector for any Free People wishing to join in; demand the right of free emigration with compensation as inalienable right of every individual in the World.

If the substantial part of any foreign nation wishes to join in, support its peaceful partition.

Demand the right for FREE and UNIMPEDED access of the individual to FULL NON-DISTORTED NON-FILTERED information as an inalienable natural right and enforce it throughout the world as a real guarantee for peace.

When you think there’s nowhere UP for you to go, the only way for you to go is DOWN.

When the life’s easy, one isn’t compelled to fight for it. It’s much easier to give way.

Human animal evolution is group selection, and these individual traits were advantageous to the survival of the group, in the past.

The only real Freedom to be had is the Freedom from Nature, or what the great late Russian Sci-Fi writer Ivan Efremov called “Inferno” in his prophetic Bull’s Hour.

Frightening, perhaps, but surely typical: “Did you ever notice how long you have to see most things before you see them?” (Ralph Parlette, The University of Hard Knocks)

GerryP @49: Not crazy at all. On the contrary, eminently sane. If Texas were to secede, I’d be one of its first immigrants.

Could it really happen? Seems like a pipe dream. Strange times we live in when the pipe dream appears to be the only sane solution. Wow, imagine living in a country that could actually use its own natural resources; that could safeguard its own borders; that based success, not on quotas and equality of outcomes, but on merit; that honored and abided by the Constitution’s original intent, because its people recognized the truth of Montesquieu’s assertion that “society, notwithstanding all its revolutions, must repose on principles that do not change.”

Well, it could happen, couldn’t it? If it happened once before, a couple of centuries ago, it could happen again. If the idea of America is not to perish from the earth, it’ll have to happen.

It says in part:

“How do the vast resources of Texas compare that of other independent nations? Texas has 23,507,783 people; 11% larger than Australia. 79% of the nations have populations smaller than Texas. Our GDP is $1,065,891,000,000; 32% larger than Australia. 93% of the nations have a GDP smaller than Texas. Texas annual oil production is 393,000,000 barrels; 90% of the nations produce less oil than Texas. Texas annual gas production is 5613039 MMcf; 93% of the nations produce less gas than Texas.

“Will Texas manage and collect revenues on oil in the 14 Million acres of the Western Gulf of Mexico? Yes. Texas will abide by the current Delimitation Treaty with Mexico and negotiate a treaty with the U.S.

“Will other states be able to protect themselves without the massive military strength of Texas? Yes, Texas does provide the largest contingent of troops for the U.S. war machine. However Texas and the other seceding states can negotiate a peaceful transition of personnel and equipment so that all can be protected. Just as the U.S.S.R. did in 1989 when their republics seceded.”

A “Federal States of America” or some such name, could be an alternative right now, or soon. It could be based on the U.S. Constitution, maybe with a couple of amendments changed. It would give non-leftists “some place to run to” from the mess to come. It could separate us from the future bankruptcy of CA, NY and NJ. (We thrifty, prudent states with little or no deficits don’t much want to prop up the big-spending, welfarist, big-deficit states.)

Where? Probably the states that went for McCain in November. (See appropriate maps.)They are also the states least likely to be running deficits. And the most likely to field a serious military.

I can think of lots of other advantages. For one, Obama doesn’t seem to want to fight any wars. So now might be the time to do it without having to fight a war. If we could get a little strip along the southern edges of New Mexico (blue state) and Southern California, we could take care of the Mexican border sensibly. And still be a “sea to shining sea” country. When our northern “blue” cousins come to their senses someday, we MIGHT consider re-joining them.

Crazy?

A series of articles chronicling his progression from card-carrying Communist to Bible-carrying Christian.

Most of those worrying about America’s educational problems focus on the effect of bad schooling on individuals (the children who are left behind) or the economy (businesses struggling with semi-literate workers). But there is a much more important issue: What kind of society will bad schools give us? What kind of government will we have if current educational trends have their way?

The Founding Fathers did not think that a free, democratic republic would be possible without well-educated citizens.
John Adams made education a priority when he wrote in the Massachusetts constitution of
“Wisdom and knowledge, as well as virtue, diffused generally among the body of the people being necessary for the preservation of their rights and liberties.”

Thomas Jefferson said of education,
“No other sure foundation can be devised for the preservation of freedom and happiness.”

Not long. The problem with soft tyranny is that somebody has to pay for it but the tyrants have little respect or understanding for those who pay. Inevitably they make life difficult for the productive class, which shrinks and therefore must be squeezed harder and harder to meet the ever-expanding budget needs. Squeezed much harder than “soft” tyranny can squeeze. Something has to give.