Danged Intriguing
Now that all my relatives in San Francisco have either died or moved away, I'm monitoring San Francisco's attempt to secede from the United States. Reported here. See usoutofsf.com. Excerpts from the posters:
Date: 4 November 2004 5:35:25p PST
From: Robert Morris
To: petition@usoutofsf.com
Frisco (yes, that's what we future foreigners call the
place, unperturbed by Caen's preaching), the city with a
transient population of waiters, waitresses, and bartenders
who will forever be paying rent to Chinese landlords. How
can you secede if you don't own the land? For certain most
of your landlords voted Republican.
And who's going to bus the tables, wash the dishes, and blow
the leaveswhen the Mexican immigrants refuse to join you
because you won't let them bring their church and the Virgin
of Guadalupe with them to your godless and un-Christian
country?
It's kind of sad: all of you folks from someplace else
huddled together in rent-controlled Frisco to escape the
real world, finding solace in conforming together as a
so-called radical group.
Get over it: in 2004 the Dodgers eliminated the Giants, the
Angels eliminated the A's, and Bush eliminated Kerry. The
south beat the north bad this year. But as they say: there's
always next year (or the next four years). We'll see you
then for another fight.
Date: Thu, 04 Nov 2004 15:33:11 -0500
From: q0402
To: petition@usoutofsf.com
Subject: secession
Each year the Vermont Legislators vote to secede from the
nation. As you may have already guessed, they have never
been successful. With the United States going to Jesus for
the next 4 years, 2005 might be different.
As a New Yorker living very close to the Vermont boarder, I
don't qualify. My attorney who is from Vermont, tells me to
qualify as a "true" Vermonter, your family must go back 3
generations.
Posted: 2004-11-06 19:15:23.413766 Name: Jigga, please. Text: Yeah. This is probably a better idea than moving to Canada. I'd feel sorry for the Canadians.
Posted: 2004-11-06 19:51:15.223819 Name: Simon Text: If this goes ahead, can I immigrate? ;-) If not, you all could come live in New Zealand. We've got hills, a harbour and a cablecar right here, a leftwing female Prime Minister, a transsexual in Parliament - and we're about to pass a bill legalising Civil Union :-) Good luck, keep your heads up and remember, nothing lasts forever - and 80% of the rest of the world is on your side :-)
Actually, I've been mulling the idea of Southern California becomes its own state with its own Senators. Or perhaps even a state of San Bernardino.
But some people have engaged more than a single brain cell in these endeavors:
Welcome to the State of Jefferson! Jefferson is located in the mountain border region of northern California and southern Oregon.
No one (in the discussion on this blog) wants California to secede from the Union: the question is whether to split it into 2 or 3 or 4 separate states. One commenter said it would happen eventually.
But whatever the reason for the mess, it is clear that the boldness, inventiveness and efficiency that are the hallmarks of California's private sector have been largely absent from its public counterpart—and it is beginning to show. The state has gradually slid down the income-per-head ratings; in 2002 it was overtaken as America's biggest exporter by Texas; every year, more rich white Californians in effect secede from the state, setting up home in planned communities with their own rules, schools, security guards and often walls.
Is it time to reinvent Alta California? We'd be happy for awhile, but as Tom Clifton observes, we'd be fighting with Southern California in no time at all over water, oil, and whatever dumb 'reality' shows Hollywood came up with.
On the other hand, there's at least one entity that shares the spirit of the San Francisco secessionists:
East of California, the U.S. is moving in the wrong direction--towards preemptive war, attacks on reproductive freedom, massive deficits, restrictions of civil liberties, environmental rollbacks and free reign for corrupt corporations....California resisted the rightwing zeitgeist which swept the rest of the nation and elected a straight democratic ticket, affirming the state's committment to the environment, a woman's right to choose, equal rights under the law, and world peace. We're succeeding so we're seceding. Don't move to Canada. Move to the United State of California. A new nation dedicated to preserving the American way of life.
Count me out...
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