GuybrushWilco

"So this is how liberty dies, with thunderous applause" One dictator falls and another one rises. Although given the more stark religious aspects of this new dictatorship, it may be worse.

That 40% wasn't 'skipped' these are people who, for whatever reason, willingly choose not to vote, and it is of course within their rights, to not vote.

It is most like a satirical petition from liberal Texans in Austin, which from my understanding is a city with a mostly liberal minded population. They are saying, in response to the Texas secession petition, that they would rather not be part of an independent Texas, and would prefer to remain in the USA, so they are calling for Austin to be its own state. Anyway, it's just a handful of private citizens petitioning for Texas secession anyway, and it's not coming from the state Senate or other parts of the Texan government. In fact, the Texas governor, Rick Perry, recently stated that is opposed to the idea of secession.

So if Texas does not vote for a conservative president, then that means that its conservatives do not have representation? So does this mean that its liberal population at present does not have representation? Also, political representation extends to the Congress, the state Congress, and the governor, and not just the office of the Presidency. For a person to say that they do not recognize the legitimacy of a government if the person they voted for did not win, then they pretty much do not support the idea of democracy, and may prefer to live in a single party state where their preferred status quo is always maintained.

Can you confirm that Texas has no chance of ever picking the president again? They have many electoral votes, and cast those votes every four years. The current political trend is Democrat, but then again, we elected Bush two times before that.

I think that it is a real stretch of logic to classify Texas as a colony. Does Texas have equal representation in the Congress? Well actually, it has more than most other states, owing to its large population. So any state that votes for a person who does not win the Presidential office, would therefore me a colony? Does that mean that every blue state during the Bush administration was a colony?

Slavery was the single most important issue leading up to and during the Civil War. All of these other issues that are cited, like states rights and economics were issues that revolved around the institution of slavery. The South of the time was largely agrarian, and most of its products were produced through slave labor, so slavery was integral to the economy in the South in those days. During the antibellum years, The agrarian South, was the economic power of the country, and also had the most power in the Congress, and sympathy from most of those to hold the Executive offices, which meant that slavery was safe for them. There was however, an industrial revolution going on at the time, which was shifting the economic might into the North, and also brought waves of mass immigration from Europe into the free states, which was increasing the presence of the free states in the House of Representatives. This was also occurring at the same time as a burgeoning of the abolitionist movement brought on by the recent Dredd Scott case, and all of this made the perfect storm for secession. Many Southern slave owners were worried that the increasing power of the free states, would lead to an outright abolition of slavery, and they lobbied for slavery to be made constitutionally legal in every state and territory. Abraham Lincoln came on board during this time with the promise that he would stop the expansion of slavery into the free states, and this is what got him elected. The Confederate states in their paranoia, decided to secede as a pre-emptive move to protect their economic interests (slave labor) and their states rights (the right to keep people as slaves). So yeah, there were a lot of issues that brought about the Civil War, but every important issue was a byproduct of slavery, and therefore, slavery was key cause of the Civil War. Sorry for the history lesson/rant, but the somewhat popular notion that slavery was just a passing issue for the Civil War, has always bothered me, because it is a major misconception.

I really don't see a second civil war as being likely in the foreseeable future. The issues we have right now are no where near as derisive and deep as the issues surrounding slavery were. Just look at the whole Bleeding Kansas affair, and the state civil wars in Tennessee and Virginia. Also, back in those days the political power in the South was almost entirely in the hands of slave owners, and the modern day confederate supports do not have nearly that hold on power. Also, the general demographics of the South have changed a lot since then, and I think that people are generally more educated as to the negative impacts of a secession or civil war. Basically, the 'South will rise again' people are not nearly big enough and numbers and influence to create a repeat in 1861.

The movements have always existed, but the political climate of the early 1860's was a world different from what we have today.

Which is flawed, because no matter how much anyone tries to spin it, none of the states would survive on their own. It also would mean that people would need to get a passport in order to visit their families or friends across state lines! could you imagine that? Anyway, it's not going to happen. Every state who agree to join the union, agreed to cede some of its powers to the Federal government, as per the constitution. They also agree to follow the constitution while knowing full well that it is a living document that is subject to change, via amendments.

Obama is from Hawaii, and people just need to accept that and get over it.

That's amusing, but it only stands out because you read into it what you want to read into it. Like all of that Nostradamus stoff, it is written vaguely enough, that it can mean anything. Also, if you are suggesting that H.P. Lovecraft had some kind of precognitive ability, then I doubt he would believe it, since he was an avowed atheist.

Happy belated Veterans day, to everyone who served our country in the armed forces

There have always been angry fringe groups talking about secession, but since the civil war, they have never gained any traction. This is really just the immediate knee jerk reactionism from anti-Obama folks and super right wing groups that are just trying to make a statement. The reality is that it is only a pipe dream of a few extreme people, and none of these states would be able to survive on their own. Also, people in general would never support secession, because many American families are spread all around the country, and people would not support the idea of breaking up their families and relationships across states, by forming new countries. Also, you can see it as though a few thousand signatures in a couple of days is a lot, but when you consider that Texas for instance, is home to 25 million people, then 14,9k signatures does not seem like anything. I was born and raised in Michigan, and being a native Michigander, I can tell you that those signatures are a joke, and there is no way that Michigan would ever secede! Look at all the talk of Quebec seceding over the years in Canada, and that has never happened, and probably won't happen in the foreseeable future And that secession movement has always been a lot stronger than anything here.

The most important thing right now is that the two sides work out a deal before December 31st, to avoid this so called 'fiscal cliff'. Now there are a lot of opinions going around about whether that is the best term for it, but even though it is probably not apocalyptic like some sensationalists like to claim, it is a bad thing. With the Eurozone teetering on the brink, we can't afford such a big problem here too. After that is settled, then I imagine he will continue pushing through more healthcare reform, and try to get the budget under control.