Conservative Heritage Times

Here’s a rather jarring omen of how diseased our political system has become – a Public Mind poll by Fairleigh Dickinson University reveals that 29% of American voters believe it will take an armed revolt to protect their civil liberties.

Little wonder people are so frustrated and frightened these days. How much confidence can they have in a political system when the anti-war, pro-civil liberty candidate wins the election, then orders yet another surge of US troops in an unpopular war, and expands both domestic surveillance and the exercise of arbitrary government power?

This poll reflects genuine concern about the abuse of power by a centralized, hostile federal government that Robert E. Lee predicted would rise from Lincoln’s successful counter-revolution against the principles of 1776. The dynamic that Lee foresaw – “aggressive abroad and despotic at home” – is made vividly clear today as civilian control methods perfected in occupied Iraq are beiing utilized here at home by an increasingly militarized police. What a perfect illustration of the mutual hostility and distrust between rulers and the ruled.

As DC hardens itself to reform by hamstringing potential third parties and nullifying local self-government, frustration with our increasingly inept and catastrophic government can only solidify and spread.

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I have long said that Russia should just let Chechnya go. They clearly don’t think of themselves as Russians. Is it really worth all the trouble to keep them in? They let Georgia go, for example, when the USSR collapsed. Why not let Chechnya go? I have read that it has to do with their relative statuses before the breakup. Georgia already enjoyed a higher level of autonomy than Chechnya does. So they’re keeping Chechnya on a technicality?

Russia aided secessionist South Ossetia when they thought doing so would tweak the Georgians.  But they won’t allow Chechnya their independence. Sounds hypocritical to me.

Of course, America’s official position on the issue should be neutrality. I’m just sayin’ for me personally… I believe if I were a Russian I would be thinking, “Good riddance! Don’t let the door hit you on the backside on the way out.”

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The energetic discussion generated by the question of what organizing principle best advances liberty has been a pleasant surprise to me. Check out the various arguments raised here, here, and here.

Another worthy contribution to the debate is posted at The Classic Liberal. It’s definitely worth reading in its entirety.

Here’s as brief a summary as I can offer of the difference between conservatism and all the other little isms: Conservatism was first described in reaction to the advent of leftism in the Western world, the French Revolution. The Jacobins saw reason as sovereign, and desired to sweep away all the imperfections and irrational practices that they imagined had held mankind back. Burke vigorously rejected that notion, and countered that custom and tradition are sovereign. The accumulated wisdom of an organic society is priceless and irreplaceable.

Click here to continue.

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LEAGUE OF THE SOUTH NEWS SERVICE

9 January 2013

For immediate release:

The Obama administration is threatening to use Executive Orders to further dismantle the Second Amendment. Democratic Senator Diane Feinstein (CA) is set to introduce a draconian bill to ban “assault weapons” and high-capacity magazines, among other things, later this month. Between the two, they are intent on turning otherwise law-abiding gun owners in the South and elsewhere into outlaws with the stroke of a pen.

But won’t these law-abiding gun owners comply with the new “laws?” Won’t they dutifully register their “assault weapons” with the authorities and submit to other restrictions on buying, owning, and transferring firearms? Some will but many will not. They will instead become outlaws.

In the last month, millions of Americans have bought millions of weapons and over a billion rounds of ammunition. They are not buying these expensive things in order to register them or turn them in to the gun grabbers at some point in the future. They are buying them to defend themselves, their families, and their property from whomever might threaten them. And at present, the biggest threat is the U.S. government itself.

The League of the South, the premier Southern nationalist organization, will not comply with any diminution of our God-given right to keep and bear the sort of arms a free people need to remain free. This means “assault weapons” and high-capacity magazines. Moreover, we will view any attempt to deprive the Southern people of these tools as a criminal act by a criminal regime.

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One of the more notable deaths of 2012 which went unnoticed was that Thomas Naylor. The Mississippi-born Naylor who was an economics professor at Duke, started an organization entitled “The Second Vermont Republic” an organization dedicated to restore Vermont as an independent county as it was after Revolutionary War until 1795. Naylor started SVR  in 2003 in the wake of the Iraq War and with the Help of Kirkpatrick Sale accomplished making secession being more than something  “Southern”. Secessionist history and movement and independent republics have existed throughout American history in all corners of the country.

Naylor’s recent death may very well deflate the SVR  movement, as per usual when original and charismatic persons pass away. While there are persons ready to take Naylor’s place who believe in the SVR cause, politically it remains impotent and doesn’t have very many activists. It’s growth took place during the Bush II Administration when there was some thought of a “permanent” Republican majority might have made some leftist Vermonters to wonder if breaking away from the U.S. was a feasible idea. Since Obama took over, forget about it. As one wag put it “What’s the worst nightmare of a SVR member? An Obama presidency.”

Of course as SVR member will point out not a lot has changed between the previous two administrations but to the kind of Vermonter the group had to convince to join that doesn’t matter. Our gang is in power, everything else is just gravy. And the same goes to the opposite end of the political spectrum. Talk to me all you want about all these secession petitions given over the White House web site but in terms of raw numbers it doesn’t mean much in comparison to the number of registered voters in each state. Even in Texas, which had the highest amount of petitions, the totals are but a drop in the bucket compared to the state’s population. Obama’s Administration really hasn’t sparked secessionists movements. Southern Republicans dream about taking back the whole country, not how they’re going to break away from it lest they might have to pay the full costs for all the goodies they get back from the Feds. Even in Europe where there are strong nationalist and secessionist parties and serious movements, the results are still disappointing. Scotland will hold a referendum soon but few think it will pass and Catlans couldn’t figure out which independence party they wanted to back, during recent local elections and their cause has been put into some doubt, and this amid the worst economic crisis since the depression.

However, it should be pointed out secession has ceased being the taboo subject it was perhaps 20 to 30 years ago. It has happened around the world, peacefully in some cases (Czech Republic and Slovakia) and violently in others (Sudan, East Timor). A West which basically tore the old Yugoslavia asunder can’t claim secession is illegitimate cause. Even in the U.S., the fact that Rick Perry revived his political career in 2009 just by mouthing such sentiments shows the same to be true. As I said the work of people like Naylor has helped in this regard and will be his legacy.

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The Abbeville Institute has begun a video series addressing the question of whether America is simply too big. 

Remember the 10-foot tall mutant ants from campy old 1950′s sci-fi films – the ones your high school biology teacher explained couldn’t actually exist?  OK, so that’s not exactly how Emory University philosophy professor emeritus Don Livingston explains it – but it does give you a general idea.  Citing Aristotle, Livingston finds bizarre claims that a real republic can contain over 300 million people.

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By Michael Hill

The spate of secession petitions that flooded the White House in the wake of Barack Obama’s re-election on 6 November probably won’t amount to much from a legal perspective. After all, despite the fact that several States, including Texas and others of the old Confederacy, got considerably more than the required 25,000 signatures during a thirty-day period to warrant a Presidential response, Mr. Obama really owes them nothing. And nothing is what they’ll get from that quarter.

But the real matter of the secession petitions is not a legal one. Rather, it is a psychological one. The simple fact is that so many of those who put their John Hancock to a document that supports breaking up the union committed a revolutionary act for the first time in their lives. In doing so, they broke an extremely important psychological barrier. They fundamentally challenged the power of the Establishment elite.

 Oftentimes a man crosses an important line and afterwards is no longer the same person. He begins to see things differently and then act upon them with changed mind and heart. He has made a basic decision from which he cannot retreat without some sense of shame or even cowardice. I suppose you could say many little personal Rubicons have been crossed during the month that has elapsed since the election in early November. What’s next, you might ask? It depends. Most of these signatories likely are not really revolutionaries or even serious secessionists. But they are frustrated and rightly concerned about the future. They know, instinctively and viscerally, that the America they once knew or the one they hoped to see is no longer there. It has been hi-jacked by those who care nothing for its past or its foundations. They see a bleak future for themselves and their progeny. These good folks need a legitimate avenue for their frustrations, and politics-as-usual is no longer it. They need uncompromising leaders and disciplined organization. They need to be told that their reasons for signing those petitions in the first place were sound. And they need to know that, as free men and women, it was necessary finally to break through that psychological barrier. It was meant to be their perpetual prison cell.

Michael Hill is the President of the League of the South

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Anyone recognize one of these guys?

Note: For some reason I can’t get the embed to work. Here is the link.

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I wanted to bring a couple of recent articles on secession to your attention.

Brion McClanahan has this one up at TAC. McClanahan was a graduate student of Clyde Wilson. So I guess TAC can occasionally print something other than appologias for moderation (Jack Hunter excepted).

“Is Secession Legal?”

The Union, then, through a declaration of war could attempt to force the seceded States to remain, but even if victorious that would not solve a philosophical issue. War and violence do not and cannot crush the natural right of self-determination. It can muddle the picture and force the vanquished into submission so long as the boot is firmly planted on their collective throats, but a bloody nose and a prostrate people settles nothing.

And Thomas DiLorenzo has this one at LewRockwell.com.

“Be Patriotic: Become a Secessionist” 

Abraham Lincoln, his administration, and members of the U.S. Congress committed treason when they levied war against the Southern states in 1861-1865. This fact is clearly proven by the plain words of Article 3, Section 3 of the U.S. Constitution that defines treason as follows:

“Treason against the United States, shall consist only in levying war against them , or in adhering to their enemies, giving them Aid and Comfort” (emphasis added).

As in all the founding documents, the phrase “United States” is in the plural, signifying the free, independent and sovereign states. The free and independent states were united in ratifying the Constitution and delegating a few powers to the national government (Article 1, Section 8), while reserving all others for the people, respectively, or the states, as stated in the Tenth Amendment.

It’s very disappointing that Scalia has stated that he believes secession is illegal. See the TAC article. But it’s nice to see the issue of secession being publicly debated.

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 We’re making progress.

Of course, Public Policy Polling can’t help but get snarky. And the polling companies scratch their heads and wonder why people don’t trust their results.

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Vote here.

There are other polls of interests there as well.

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This is why some of us so love this guy. He says stuff no one else in his position is willing to say.

See the Politico story here.

Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas) said Monday that secession was a “deeply American principle,” amid a growing number of people petitioning the White House to let their states secede from the U.S.

“Secession is a deeply American principle. This country was born through secession. Some felt it was treasonous to secede from England, but those ‘traitors’ became our country’s greatest patriots,” the former presidential candidate wrote in a post on his House website. “There is nothing treasonous or unpatriotic about wanting a federal government that is more responsive to the people it represents.”

He continued: “If the possibility of secession is completely off the table there is nothing to stop the federal government from continuing to encroach on our liberties and no recourse for those who are sick and tired of it.”

Read more…

The article needs some positive comments. Registration is required.

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The following is an e-mail from the Southern National Congress:

The Southern National Congress is a deliberative body designed to provide Southerners with a forum to voice their authentic concerns regarding the South’s continued cultural life, prosperity, and distinctive existence. The Southern National Congress provides a means of expressing Southern goals, grievances, and solutions, in an open manner not presently existing anywhere else in the public sphere. This is being accomplished within a framework conducive to the complete independence for our southern States.

The Southern National Congress is an organization of volunteer Southern citizens whose objective is to effect the freedom and independence of the several Southern States and their People so that they may restore their historic traditions of self-government and ordered Christian liberty.

Why the SNC?

Today’s public institutions–political, financial, and cultural — have become increasingly alienated from the Southerner in his identity as a Southerner. The Southerner and the Southland are becoming mere commodities, useful one day, to be discarded the next.

This is because the political, economic, and intellectual systems that exist in these united States today are destructive of those who will not stand for themselves. The old institutional protections that in the past provided some protection for the people, their identity, heritage, and welfare, have been allowed to decay into nothing. The South must stand independently as a distinct nation, people and culture – or cease to exist.

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No surprise here. Erick Erickson proves once again that he is nothing but a mouthpiece for the Establishment. If any authentic voice of conservative resistance rears it’s head, you can always count on Erickson to quickly attempt to purge it. (See here, here, here, and here) Does he know he’s being a tool of the Establishment in which case he is malicious or does he not realize that he is a tool in which case he is a fool.

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Below is a statement from Dr. Michael Hill:

THE RIGHT OF SECESSION AND THE BENEFITS OF INDEPENDENCE FOR THE SOUTH

“Secession belongs to a different class of remedies. It is to be justified upon the basis that the States are sovereign. There was a time when none denied it. I hope the time may come again, when a better comprehension of the theory of our Government, and inalienable rights of the people of the States, will prevent any one from denying that each State is a sovereign, and thus may reclaim the grants which it has made to any agent whomsoever.”– Jefferson Davis Farewell Address to U.S. Senate, 21 Jan. 1861

The on-going internet Secession Petition campaign has been quite an affirmation for those of us who were secessionists before secession was cool! Now that the “S word” is being spread all across the land by various media, we think an explanation of the right of secession and its benefits and The League of the South’s stand on the issue is warranted. Oh, and before we get started we would like to set three things straight: 1) Secession is not illegal; 2) It is not treason; and 3) it is not lunatic and impractical. Lets also define what it is – Our Founding Principle as espoused and  proclaimed in the Declaration of Independence!!

The League’s goal is good government for the Southern people. We believe secession—and independence–is the best way to restore good government to the South. Since 1861 the republican system of government established by the Founders has been steadily eroded. Today that government has become the cruel master rather than the obedient servant of the citizens of the several states. We see no way of reforming the corruption within the present system; therefore, the League seeks to spread acceptance of the idea of secession among the people of the South and elsewhere.

We believe in the Jeffersonian principle that free people may change their government if over a long period of time it refuses to protect their lives, liberty, and property. As the present government of the United States has violated the original compact of 1789 and no longer offers its citizens such protection, we believe that the time has come for the Southern States to consider the merits of secession. The League of the South does not advocate the overthrow of the government of the United States; rather, we wish to leave peaceably and form our own nation or nations, as the people of the South shall freely decide.

Secession in 2012 is not premature, impractical, nor against the law. The time is right for separation and the establishment of local self-rule for all peoples who desire to be free. Secession has long been seriously debated in several western states and in Canada. The break-up of the Soviet Empire hastened such movements all across Eastern Europe, and now all of Europe is aflame with secession movements.

The South has clearly lagged behind in the drive for self-determination, undoubtedly because many Southerners believe secession is illegal because the Southern States were forced to renounce and repeal their secession ordinances under the duress of military occupation during the Reconstruction era. However, the right of secession is nothing more than the right of sovereign states to recall the powers they delegated to the federal government when they ratified the US Constitution. This right cannot be renounced because the right to liberty and self-determination is an inalienable right given by God. Therefore, secession is not illegal or unconstitutional. Secession is still a practical alternative to the further dissolution and chaos of a virtually ungovernable union. We must act boldly and take advantage of a favorable cultural and political climate. If we hesitate now, we very well may lose.

If the States of the old Confederacy and the Border States of Missouri, Kentucky, Oklahoma, and Maryland were a nation, its GNP would place it among the top three or four nations of the world. Its laws would better reflect the natural conservatism and Christian roots of the Southern people. Our laws on gun control, abortion, school prayer, and immigration would without question be different. We could establish a confederation of states and make the provisions of the Tenth Amendment a reality. We could follow George Washington’s sage advice about “entangling alliances.” We could leave the United Nations and oppose the globalists’ New World Order. We could stop foreign aid to those who despise us and seek our destruction. We could once again reward merit. We could get government out of our children’s education. In other words, we could again seize control of our own destiny.

In order to make secession work, we must be tough-minded and willing to stand up to the forces of tyranny that are loose in the land. We must not cast ourselves as victims, for victims are perceived as helpless and thus dependent for their salvation on the goodwill of others. We must not ask permission to exercise our ancient rights and liberties; we should seize them as free men. We also must build a strong organization that is able to give form to our vision: the establishment of a Southern Nation or nations grounded firmly in the hallowed traditions and virtuous principles of our forebears. If you agree with our general position, we invite you to join us.

Michael Hill
The League of the South
Killen, Alabama
14 November 2012

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From the Southern National Congress:

Mark Thomey, chairman of the Southern National Congress has called for letters to the Governors of each of our States. A sample letter follows and a Microsoft Word version is available for download below:

The Honorable (your Governor’s Full Name)
Governor of (your State)
your State Capitol address
Date

Dear Governor [your Governor's Last Name]:

The results of the recent national elections have proven, as have past ones, that the liberty and dearest principles and interests of the People of (your State) suffer, nay, are being trampled upon and eradicated, by our continued association with the united States of America.

The People of (your State) have been held to this association at gun point for one hundred fifty years, but a just self-respect and a desire for regaining our lost estate must outweigh our fears. As Thomas Jefferson wrote in the Declaration of Independence, whenever any form of government becomes destructive of life, liberty and property, it is not only our RIGHT, it is our DUTY to abolish that government and institute a new one that will provide for our future security. What rational, patriotic Southerner can conclude anything but that the united States government is destructive of our lives, liberty and property?

The time has come for the People of (your State) to reconsider the attachment to the united States. We are a separate and distinct People, and we must have a separate and distinct cultural, social, economic and political existence.

Therefore, I am demanding that at the earliest opportunity, you call for the convening of a Convention of the People of (your State), to be held in the City of (your State capital), on the earliest date possible, for the sole purpose of debating, and if found necessary and prudent, enacting a solemn ordinance of secession of the State of (your State) from the union now subsisting between Her and other States under the Constitution for the united States of America.

Thank you for your time, and for doing your duty in defending and advancing the liberty and prosperity of the People of (your State).

Respectfully,
(your name and address)

http://southernnationalcongress.org/truths/2012/letter_to_governor.php

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If you scroll down to the comments section of the numerous articles on the secession petitions, you’ll encounter much snark and attitude toward those of us who want to reclaim self-government. We’re ignorant, we’re racist, we’re treasonous – why, our motivations are CLEARLY anything OTHER THAN the motivations we state for supporting secession, which is to stop an out-of-control central government.

After all, who in his right mind would want to secede from an authoritarian regime that’s busily constructing a vast, secret infrastructure for the purpose of conducting citizen surveillance?

This regime, by the way, now has the power to arrest and detain American citizens as long as it wants. Who says the central government has that power? For one, there’s the Obama administration itself:

“The president strongly believes that to detain American citizens in military custody infinitely without trial, would be a break with our traditions and values as a nation, and wants to make sure that any type of authorization coming from congress, complies with our Constitution, our rules of war and any applicable laws.”

Yes, let’s make sure some government employee with a law degree assures us the i’s are dotted and the t’s crossed before we trash the law of the land. All in the name of “national security,” of course. What will Obama’s supporters say when Team Obama unleashes that power to crush dissent?

And I wonder what those supporters will do when he starts to reward his supporters in the name of promoting racial equality? It’s coming:

If your organization has a policy or practice that doesn’t benefit minorities equally, watch out: The Obama administration could sue you for racial discrimination under a dubious legal theory that many argue is unconstitutional.

President Obama intends to close “persistent gaps” between whites and minorities in everything from credit scores and homeownership to test scores and graduation rates.

His remedy — short of new affirmative-action legislation — is to sue financial companies, schools and employers based on “disparate impact” complaints — a stealthy way to achieve racial preferences, opposed 2 to 1 by Americans.

Under this broad interpretation of civil-rights law, virtually any organization can be held liable for race bias if it maintains a policy that negatively impacts one racial group more than another — even if it has no racist motive and applies the policy evenly across all groups.

What will Obama’s young white supporters think when they’re unfairly denied jobs? It’s going to happen – there’s no other way to make racial quotas work. Any racial imbalances in the workplace that reflect those of the school system – you have heard of the black-white performance gap, haven’t you? – will result in swift, harsh action.

Who remembers Obama’s gaffe last March, when, during a meeting with Russian Prime Minister Medvedev, he unknowingly whispered into a live microphone, “This is my last election. After my election I have more flexibility.”?

You don’t remember that? Well, you’re about to find out just how flexible Obama can be now that he’s armed with a mandate as well as new, unconstitutional powers to impose his radical agenda.

Let’s see how silly secession appears then.

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Since we are on the subject of secession:

Announcing The Fifth Southern National Congress

It is my pleasure to announce that the 2012 – Fifth Southern National Congress – will be held in the Alabama LS culture center and headquarters in Wallsboro (Elmore County), Alabama, on 15-16 March 2013 (Friday-Saturday).

The LS building is located on US Hwy. 231 north of Montgomery, the first Capital of the Confederacy.

The Fifth Congress will be the most important yet. As our country continues to deteriorate right in front of eyes, we are reminded daily why we became delegate.

Click here to download a pdf format registration form and here to download a Microsoft Word registration form. Please complete form, attach check and mail to the address on the form.

Each delegate will make their own lodging reservations.

From: http://southernnationalcongress.org/truths/2012/fifth_congress.php

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Go here to vote.

The good guys are winning so far. Let’s keep it that way.

Here is a related story.

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When I argued that an Obama win would be better for conservatives than a Romney win, I got a lot of angry emails and comments from readers. “Worse IS NOT better!” they yelled.

Of course not. But that’s not what I was saying. I was making two points: Romney’s embarrassing kowtowing before Netanyahu and the predominance of Neocons from the George W. Bush regime in his campaign all but guaranteed a “pre-emptive” war on Iran. And what have the Neocon Wars given us so far? The Department of Homeland Security, citizen surveillance, torture enhanced interrogation, indefinite detention, as well as increased Muslim immigration.

Bottom line: Another war would do even more permanent damage. Continue Reading »

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