Remember, Donnie Wanted This Guy for the Nation's Top Cop
33 minutes ago
Monday, September 15, 2014
Independence
Soon the Scotts will vote for or against independence. Current polls indicate it will be a near thing. I've a few drops of Scottish blood in my veins. No doubt there are very distant relatives of mine caught up in the whole thing. My heart says to go with independence and my head says: go with independence. It's about freaking time. (but that's just me, someone across the pond with little skin in the game)
It's easy to have an opinion when the events are across the ocean. In 1995 there was an independence vote much closer to home in Quebec. I could walk to Quebec in a day and a half, and I'm a middle aged fat guy. There are close relatives of mine living in the Provence. The Quebec Referendum was a near thing. Independence failed by the thinnest of margins.
Members of my own extended family were split on issue, brother against brother. Personally, I really didn't know what to wish for. Since Quebec is a neighbor, independence would have affected me one way or the other. For good or bad, who could say? Since then the fires of independence have dampened down, but they haven't gone out.
Few people know that for a few years there was an independent republic here in Northern New Hampshire, the Indian Stream Republic. Canada and the US both claimed the area so both sent tax collectors. That angered the locals so they threw everybody out and claimed independence. Eventually the US moved in troops and settled the issue. Still, that independent streak runs in the veins of us locals.
Maybe those of us in Northern New Hampshire need an independence vote of our own. It's not like we haven't done it before.
-Sixbears
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During the civil war winston couty al. voted to succeed from the union and the confederacy.Their still refered to as the free state of winston on county emblems.Locals say they never asked to rejoin either.
ReplyDeleteThere were a number of little independence movements in the US that few know about.
DeleteThen there's the Conch Republic . . .
Like all things, there's both good and bad to consider, I suppose.
ReplyDeleteYou can never do just one thing.
DeleteSince I have lived in Texas, there have been several times I have heard real loud rumblings of secession, the last and loudest came when Obama was re-elected for a second term.
ReplyDeleteThat could be interesting.
Deletein "free the state" most freestaters are waiting for somebody else to free the state from the oppressors
ReplyDeletefor example Wyoming; if my people did it, all you wyoming freestaters be kicked out for being the losers whom did nothing beforehand
why free any state for a bunch of do nothing worthless "freedom fighters"????
Wildflower
note; in case of my people, you wouldn't be kicked out but dropped into the stewpot....
The NH Free State Project was making some headway by getting people elected to the legislature. However, the group is now at least 2 groups, so I don't think they'll do that well in the long run.
DeleteThere are more countries that have gotten their freedom from political rather than military means. Not very exciting, but there you go.
Independence will ruin Scotland for generations. It already recieves £15 billion annually more from Westminster than it generates. In an economy worth less than £250 billion in total a sizable sum.
ReplyDeleteThen it gets worse, banks, pension companies, insurance companies are requieed to have their head offices in the EU which an independent Scotland will not be in. Whats more Spain has vowed to block any application to join.
Since fully one quarter of Scotland s economy is financial services it will hit them very hard.
It gets worse though, Scotland has a high number of state employees whos work relates to the rest of the UK. No UK government will stand leaving thosejobs in Scotland. What's more legally many cannot be done outside the country. Thats 35,000 jobs in a country of 5 million.
Those are merely a few points we haven't wven covered the fact that the SNP don't even know what currency they will use. A fact that is making businesses and mortgage providers very nervous.
Finally I will mention that many Americans seem to think that Scotland is some sort of colony. They seem to be totally oblivious that the Act of the Union 1707 was just that a union and one that was done to benefit a bankrupt Scotland.
One thing is certain should they vote independence the rest ofthe UK, including us Welsh, will not take them back or bail them out again.
All good points, but I'm guessing emotion may overrule economics here.
Deletein any act there be losers and winners
ReplyDeleteon the other hand freedom has a price well worth paying for
so you be freeman or doltering old slaves chained to the wheel
yourr choice
Wildflower