VERMONT PASSES RESOLUTION TO SECEDE FROM THE US

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Vermont Passes Resolution

To Secede From The US

By Greg Szymanski

11-3-5

 

The members of a peaceful freedom-fighting group want no part of neo-

cons running the imperialistic U.S. government. Plan to secede from

the U.S. gaining momentum in the fiercely independent Green Mountain

state.

 

The neo-con band of criminals running Washington, trampling on civil

rights at home and invading countries at will overseas, has led a

large group of strong-minded Vermont freedom-fighters with no choice

but to secede from the United States.

 

And last Friday at the state capital building in Montpelier, a

historic independence convention was held, the first of its kind in

the United States since May 20, 1861, when North Carolina decided to

leave the Union.

 

A packed House Chamber in the Vermont statehouse, with more than 400

gathered, started the daylong secession convention with a speech by

keynote James Howard Kunstler, author of The Long Emergency, and

ended with a resolution passed to secede from the United States.

 

Most people think of secession as impossible if not treasonous, but

the concept is deeply rooted in the Declaration of Independence,

reminding us that " Whenever any form of government becomes

destructive, it is the Right of the People to alter or abolish it and

to institute new government. "

 

And with the neo-con takeover of Washington, including all its

branches of government that transforming America into a one-party

dictatorship, that's exactly what the resolution passed in Vermont

seeks to do by members of grassroots movement growing in numbers

daily.

 

Although the resolution is the first step in the long process that

needs support from the state legislators - as well as an officially

recognized convention - the grass roots group called the Second

Vermont Republic passed the following citizen's resolution:

 

" Be it resolved that the state of Vermont peacefully and

democratically free itself from the United States of America and

return to its natural status as an independent republic as it was

between January 15, 1777 and March 4, 1791. "

 

Even though critics give the secession group a snowball's chance in

hell,, organizers are firmly convinced in the present-day tyrannical

political climate secession will not only succeed but will prosper.

 

This could only happen in Vermont where people are still fiercely

independent and fed up with the course the American government is

taking, " said Thomas Naylor, the head of the group calling itself the

Second Republic of Vermont. " We have a lot going for us and if you

think about it, we have a lot in common with Poland's Solidarity

movement, who many said would never succeed.

 

" But Poland did get its freedom, mainly because it was a country

liked around the world, sort of like how people in America feel about

Vermont. When people think of Vermont, they have a warm and fuzzy

feeling, an image of black and white Holstein cows and beautiful

scenery. I can also tell you there is now closet support in the

legislature now and we are serious about getting the support needed

to secede from the United States.,

 

Naylor, a former Duke University economics professor, said from his

Vermont home this week that statewide independence is really a

euphemism for secession, adding Vermont also will seek to join the

group of Unrepresented Nations similar to the Lakota Indians and

other international indigenous people.

 

" Secession is one of the most politically charged words in America,

thanks to Abraham Lincoln, " said Naylor, adding he had been writing

about secession for the better part of 10 years but the movement

picked up tremendous steam after 9/11. " Secession really combines a

radical act of rebellion grounded in fear and anger with a positive

vision for the future.

 

" It represents an act of faith that the new will be better than the

old. The decision to secede necessarily involves a very personal,

painful four-step decision process. It first involves denunciation

that the United States has lost its moral authority and is

unsustainable, ungovernable and unfixable. Second, there is

disengagement or admitting I don,t want to go down with the Titanic.

Third, there is demystification that secession really is a viable

option constitutionally, politically and economically. And finally,

defiance, saying I personally want to help take Vermont back from big

business, big markets and big government and I want to do so

peacefully., "

 

What started out as Naylor's little fantasy to have an independent

country made up of Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine, has already

grown from a small group of 36 several years ago to a packed House

Chamber in the state's capital. Claiming to have a membership of 160

as of last April, Naylor said the numbers have doubled or even

tripled.

 

" I,m getting calls from all over the country supporting our

movement, " said Naylor. " Although there are more than 20 states with

some kind of secession movement, Alaska and Hawaii being the best

examples, I think Vermont really has the best chance at succeeding at

seceding. "

 

Besides holding the Vermont independence convention in Montpelier,

the smallest state capital city in the United States, it also has the

reputation as being the most fiercely independent and anti- big

business, being the only one not allowing a McDonald's in the entire

country.

 

" First and foremost, we want out of the United States. It's not just

an anti-Bush statement and if Kerry was elected, we still would have

wanted out, " said Naylor. " The reality is that we have a one party

system in this country, called the Republican party, that is owned

and operated and controlled by corporate America. So it's not just a

Bush protest, but a protest against the Empire.

 

Although many critics have said the mighty U.S. would not stand for

Vermont's secession, Naylor as will as others disagree, including Jim

Hogue, a talk show host on Vermont Public radio.

 

" There's nothing they would want here. There's no oil, just

mountains. We,re just not important enough. We,re funny, we,re small

and we,re peaceful, " said Hogue several months ago in an article in

the Montreal Gazette.

 

With most Vermont politicians, including the Congressional

delegation, ignoring the grassroots secession movement or just

laughing it off as good theatre, Vermont's Lt. Gov., Brian Dubie, has

weighed in on the issue, giving it a certain amount of merit but

stopping short of outright support.

 

" I really salute their energy and passion, " he said in a local press

interview. " we have an obligation to think of what is in our best

interest as a state and for the people of out state, even as we

approach federal and national issues. "

 

Besides Naylor and Kuntsler, others who spoke at the Oct. 28

independence convention included Professor Frank Bryan of the

University of Vermont; Kirkpatrick Sale, author of Human Scale; J.

Kevin Graffagnino, executive director of theVermont Historical

Society; Professor Eric Davis, Middlebury College; Shay Totten,

editor of the Vermont Guardian; and Dr. Rob Williams of Champlain

College.

 

 

http://www.arcticbeacon.com/articles/article/1518131/36584.htm