Category: Current Events & Politics

HJL, I would like to add one statement to this discussion. The door going in and out of the USA swings both ways. Is it a matter of my way or the highway? In a word, no. However, I am begging for any liberal of any stripe to please tell me where it is so much better to live on this planet, and once stated, why are you not there? I am a firm believer in voting with your feet. I and many others have done it, and so can anyone else. Quit your complaining. – C.N. o o o …

JWR and HJL, Sadly, we are about to experience the same bureaucratic wisdom here in NY’s North Country and Adirondacks. Recently a well known engineering school had a student research panel present similar concerns in a public forum. I’m not quite sure how I’ve lived as long (or as warmly!) without their expertise. The old adage of “…wood heats four times” is still true. – RJH

Thanks for the article. I enjoyed it, but I have a couple of questions: the Supreme Court rulings seem to pertain only to states wanting to leave an “indestructable Union” composed of “indestructable States”, but does that still leave open the possibility of one of the “indestructable States” wanting to separate and become another state and still be part of the United States? You mention Baja Arizona, and certainly there is discussion about a State of Jefferson. There’s also the intent/desire for Silicone Valley to split off and become their own state. I’m sure upstate NY would like to divorce …

HJL, Regarding “Localism”, the hard, cold facts are that whatever significantly disrupts society to the point of power-grid collapse will induce major chaos, loss of life, loss of comfort, loss of wealth, and loss of security. A moral people (which our nation is not) must be governed by law, even in the absence of external government. Self-control is the foundation of civilization and must be based on a generally-acknowledged code of ethics. For past centuries, the Bible and Ten Commandments formed the platform for society. Now, not even the churches will acknowledge these authorities, let alone the Darwinists. The most …

Lost in the media coverage of the elections is that the Trump administration presents an opportunity for strategic cooperation between the U.S. and Russia that would not had been available if Hillary Clinton had been elected. Despite this opening, the challenges confronting such cooperation are many and formidable. Trump fits the alpha male Russian stereotype: he is a strong leader, brash, displays some recklessness, has a beautiful trophy foreign wife, is a multi-billionaire with a gold-plated apartment, is a relentless self-promoter with a big ego, and is a BS artist but has been successful (so far). Those traits alone will …

Secession On February 1, 1861, a convention of secession was called (and subsequently sanctioned by the legislature) where an ordinance to dissolve the union between Texas and the United States was adopted and Texas declared to be a separate and sovereign state. The relationship to the United States (and its government) was disclaimed; Texas seceded from the Union. Texas thereafter joined with the other Confederate States and declared war on the United States. “…….The position thus assumed could only be maintained by arms, and Texas accordingly took part, with the other Confederate States, in the war of the rebellion, which …

Introduction The Civil War (or The War of Northern Aggression, depending on your personal view) ended in 1865. However, the legality of secession by the Southern States simply will not die 150 years after Texas formally seceded from the Union and joined the Confederate States of America. As late as May, 2011, secession by part of the State of Arizona from the rest of the State is being proposed. Secession is often bandied about by politicians on both sides of the spectrum, but do any of its proponents really understand what secession, from a legal standpoint, is and isn’t? This …