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.

Excellent choice in Arndt . Now we still have the directors chair to fill, and there are a lot of rumors for that one, including Colin Treveroww and Matthew Vaughn, who are apparently both personal favorites of Lucas. Also, Lucas apparently met with Treverrow personally, so that rumor might have more weight to it, since Mark Miller confirmed that Vaughn dropped out of X-Men to work on the Secret Service Movie. Another person rumored to be on the short list is Brad Bird, who is my personal favorite choice .

The typical red states did stay red, and in fact, Obama lost two states that he carried in 2008: Indiana and North Carolina. Indiana is a bit surprising since it is in the midwest, which has been turning very blue in the past couple of decades. Still though, Obama won the popular vote by a larger margin than had been predicted, and it shows that the shifting demographics are not shifting in the direction of the Republicans. They are going to have to do some re-branding if they want to get a Republican in the White House in 2016, especially if Hillary Clinton runs on the Democratic ticket.

Noone can deny the rise of China as a new major power, but the 'overlord' status is always a big exaggerated I think. For instance, most of the debt that the US has, is internal debt that we owe to ourselves, and while China is the largest holder of our external debt, it is still a small amount of our overall debt. Try taking a lot, for instance, at how much debt is owed to the USA by many European countries, and yet noone is casting us as their overlord .

Just to end some confusion, I am American, not British. The USA and Canada (and pretty much every country in the Americas) are very young countries, that were formed initially from colonies of very old countries. Of course we have our own unique identity and culture that has evolved from the traditions relating to native populations and from our own developments and innovations over the years, but to say that that we don't have cultural similarities with Europe, is pretty off. Canada for instance was formed directly from former British and French colonies, and there was a time in that region, many years ago, where most people of what is now Canada considered themselves to be British or French, before developing a Canadian identity. The fact that our systems of governance are directly inspired by improved forms of what existed in Britain, or from the ideas of European philosophers, has had a direct impact on the way our own cultures have developed after becoming independent countries.

I grew up in Michigan, where snow and cold weather are the norm, and people are used to it. I recently moved to Tennessee, and these Southerners do not know how to handle snow and ice If even a little bit of snow is on the ground, then the entire state practically shuts down, and people do not know how to drive on icy roads .

Canada has its own unique culture, but it still has its roots in Europe, much like the USA. Canada has has very same unwritten constitution of the UK, and also has its own system of governance modeled directly after the UK. Canada also gives is allegiance to the queen.

The European Union has higher debt than the USA does right now, and its political climate is every bit as deadlocked, polarized, and even as mean as that of the USA, or worse. I do not see Russia re-emerging as a superpower in the near future, like China, but I would say India will be a super power in the not too distant future, which rarely gets mentioned for some reason. If Puerto Rico becomes a state before 2016, and current political trends continue, then the Republican party will be struggling for survival.

Yeah, you would have to be very misinformed, or even un-intelligent to honestly believe that Romney would legalize slavery. Aside from the fact that the president does not have that power, there is nothing in Romney's history to suggest that he would be in favor of such a thing. It is really a very ridiculous thing to believe.

In other news, Puerto Rico also voted in favor of statehood, and Obama did promise to honor the referendum if statehood was favored by a majority. 61% voted in favor of statehood, 33% for free association, and 5% for independence at last count, but the votes are still being tallied. Statehood is projected to win though, so we will see if a vote for Puerto Rican statehood makes its way to the US congress

Serialized television is very popular right now, and so I always find it kind of refreshing to see a show that has an episodic format They may tend to not be as themetiacally deep, or have the same riveting story-lines, but they serve a purpose. I have recently started watching NCIS: Los Angeles, and while the show doesn't really make me think, I am quite enjoying it .