Well done, South Dakotans! You may anti-union, but you aren't anti-Union. According to analysis by sociology professor Neal Caren and colleagues at the University of North Carolina, South Dakotans were among the least enthusiastic participants in the secession tantrum following President Barack Hussein Obama's re-election last month.
Despite giving Mitt Romney an 18-point margin on November 6 (not much different from the margin in North Dakota, and larger than the spread in Texas), South Dakotans appear to have gotten no more excited about shouting "Secession!" than the good people of New Mexico, who gave President Obama a ten-point margin. Secession fever was similarly mild among our mild-mannered Midwestern neighbors in Minnesota, Iowa, Wisconsin, and Illinois.
The hottest bed of anti-American petitioning in South Dakota was Spink County (Redfield! Athol! What's you folks' problem?), where a whopping 15 signers generated the highest treason percentage by population: 0.2% of Spink's 6420 residents. To the extent that anyplace else in the state can be said to have taken interest in the petition drive, we find higher rates of America-hating among my Black Hills neighbors, folks in the state capital, my cousin Aaron's pals in the Sioux Falls Tea Party, and Turner, Brown, and Lake counties.
As you may have noticed, interest in the secession movement died quickly. Secession signatures on the White House petition website peaked on November 13, Once I blogged about the ills of secession, the movement fizzled fast. Thank you for listening.
I wonder who the 2 signers from Harding County were. Is there a place to look this up?
http://tinyurl.com/bdnb4yu
"...Spink County (Redfield! Athol! What's you folks' problem?), where a whopping 15 signers generated the highest treason percentage by population: 0.2% of Spink's 6420 residents..."
Treason? Thought we'd resolved this issue. It might be sedition, but we tread on dangerous ground indeed if we call it treason.
By so doing we open the door to horrible slippery slopes and we also cheapen the use of powerful words, sort of like crying wolf.
Treason comprises "aiding and abetting the enemy," a high bar indeed to hurl oneself over.
There's no enemy here, unless those particular folks be their own enemies. However, I reckon they think that the Union is the enemy, so they'd consider themselves traitors if the did not demand secession ...
Please be careful with red-hot words like "treason" and "traitor." I've met some people who said that Bill Clinton committed treason when he lied under oath. I've met others who call George W. Bush a traitor. How about Nixon? On and on we can go.
If all those people who signed these petitions nationwide are guilty of treason, then if justice were to be done, it would make the French Revolution seem like a walk in the park, and Robespierre look like a saint.
I have no interest in secession. I think the whole idea is ridiculous. So is the idea of calling people who favor it traitors. It's cheap talk, and dangerous talk, too.
I agree, Stan, that the handful of South Dakotans who called for secession engaged in cheap and dangerous talk, as may be throwing the word "treason" about lightly. But I maintain this distinction: In response to the foiling of their political aspirations, they have called for the dismantling of the Union. Fox News and MSNBC could both agree that secession would damage our national security and aid our enemies. The only justification secessionists can offer for their position rests on the worst partisan reading of Fox News. Secession is closer objectively to treason than any justification the petitioneers can construct.
Looks like the TEA "Party" loons (and redneck congress critters) are trying to re-run the Civil War. Mostly they are uncivil however in their campaign against central government..
Thomas Ricks: reinstating draft could lower US deficit:
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/10/opinion/lets-draft-our-kids.html
"Secession is closer objectively to treason than any justification the petitioneers can construct."
Sort of like pregnancy. Close, but no cigar.
Sedition, no doubt it is. That offense alone justifies prosecution. But imagine the uproar if all these petitioneers were tracked down and prosecuted!
Guess it would be better than locking people up in Universities of Crime for smoking certain funny looking weeds, but then again, no one ever need accuse our Union (or its detractors) of an overabundance of common sense.
I suppose we could also track down and deport all the illegal (oops, I mean undocumented) aliens (oops, I mean non-citizens). But we won't. That little uproar factor again.
Thanks for a voice of reason amongst the yackling clan Stan.
The standard wingnut excuse for stupid statements or actions is almost always, "I/we were just kidding. Can't you take a joke?"
Let me offer this distinction for your consideration Stan an Cory. Public discussion and even nonviolent petition signing advocating for secession is simply the free exercise of one's 1st amendment rights. A state government actually seceding from the Union by force is treason on its face since that state is not only aiding and abetting the Union's enemies, it has actually become an enemy itself.
Squawk.. wingnut.. squawk..
moo...stupid cow...moo...moo.
Larry, go smoke a pipe.
I want some of what 'Lar' has in that pipe. After eight days with influenza, I could use a little entertainment, might get rid of the nausea. Not sure who I picked that up from. Nausea that is.
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Of course the standard lib exit line is usually a personal attack as you and the Holstein bull are demonstrating Wiken.
If one looks back into this day's entries at Madville you will discover that only snark will bring me into the forum: end the sniping and see me "les."
Do you have a soar throat Les or any infection in the sinuses?
Black tea is good for nausea.
I had everything from respiratory, head, sinus, muscle/joint, head to toe but a pain in the ass. Our favorite rectal experience now rousing its head makes my illness complete Bree.
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Thanks for the tip. My wife is a green tea drinker, thinks it keeps weight off her belly.
That sounds awful Les. For all over the body sickness I rub zinc cream on a few of the major lymph nodes. Sounds weird, but it usually works.
Apple cider vinegar is also good for weight. I drink a few cups of green tea a day myself.
Just curious, but why do you care who signed in Harding County grudz?.....
Bret, I'm slightly more interested in why there weren't more signers from Harding County. Y'all are an ornery bunch up there, aren't you? And it occurs to me that if Harding County seceded, you could force Keystone XL to renegotiate with your own State Department!
Seriously, Bill makes a reasonable point. I'm not really too eager to prosecute folks for exercising their First Amendment rights. However, I would be very interested to do a survey of the signers, find out how many were just blowing off steam and engaging in a rhetorical exercise, how many understood the import of their words, and how many were dead serious in claiming that their states would be better off separated from the Union.
Hey, Bree, FYI: Troy Jones is a broken Catholic.
Bree: Cory will delete that comment, more at ip if you wish.
Thanks Larry. I will check it out.
Cory, if the rest of the county is like me maybe because I was not even aware there was such a petition in the county. Not that I would have signed. I am not sure if I am ready to take up arms just yet. I am just curious why a signer in Harding County would be infinitely more interesting than a signer from anywhere else.....
Bill says,
A state government actually seceding from the Union by force is treason on its face since that state is not only aiding and abetting the Union's enemies, it has actually become an enemy itself.
I agree.
Cory says,
However, I would be very interested to do a survey of the signers, find out how many were just blowing off steam and engaging in a rhetorical exercise, how many understood the import of their words, and how many were dead serious in claiming that their states would be better off separated from the Union.
Go for it, and let us know the results, eh?
I know some folks there, Mr. Clanton. A couple of them are a little insane and I was wondering if maybe they signed on thinking one thing without realizing it was putting them on a government watch list. I don't like to see my friends on government watch lists.
Well I'm not very good with computers obviously. LOL. Not sure such info is of any use to me anyway. Never needed it before.
My friend Bob was on one once and he paid a horrible price that cost him his sanity.
That's a terrible thing to happen to your friend Grudz. I'm on Larry's watch list and probably a few others so I guess its a good thing I never had an urge to secede. Not that I wouldn't be willing to fight, life here is short after all, but I like being American personally. Hope your friends in Harding didn't sign it.
Oh Les... I almost forgot. Castor oil rubbed on the chest and abdomen overnight is good for sickness too.
Bree has killer medicine apps.
They are making flu shots look better all the time. Actually I got mine a few weeks ago. Of course doing that is making a contribution to the general public and I suppose the right wing is opposed to sensible personal behavior on that basis.
The more of us who get the flu shot, the less flu for everybody.
Everyone is certainly free to take care of their own health however they feel, including getting flu shots. Some of us don't feel its worth it to get a shot for something that mutates as quickly as the flu.
And by the way Wiken, I use Castor oil for a lot of things. I always have a huge bottle of it in my cabinet. Mixed with olive oil it can be used to cleanse the skin. Absorbed through the skin it helps to reduce inflammation. You should try it sometime. It's a cure-all.
Aberdeen caves on weaponized dogs:
http://rapidcityjournal.com/news/aberdeen-city-council-votes-against-pit-bull-ban/article_15f37562-1d64-577e-a3a3-4cbd402c3ad3.html