Nothing like coming back to the land of the free, home of the stupid. I remain just furious every time I see someone come out in support of this incredibly ridiculous idea.
The proposal’s chief backer, capitalist Timothy Draper, argues that with six states instead of one, would be more decentralized and responsive. “The existing breadth of industry and various interests in California is untenable,” Draper has said. He argues that the state’s economy and educational systems have stagnated, partly because of the state’s centralized bureaucracy — and he thinks with this bureaucratic baggage would allow for more innovation in governance. Under his plan, he told Gregory Ferenstein at TechCrunch, “Each new state can start fresh. From a new crowdsourced state flower to a more relevant constitution.” Then, these “start-up states,” as he calls them, “will be able to compete with each other, for us” — trying to lure businesses and residents.
So this is what I spent 29 years of my life in the service of a great nation, all so some rich douchebag can come along and propose an idea as positively dangerous and destructive as this? NO! I tell you. NO! Both the Constitution and the Civil War settled this-and quite simply, it is in really bad taste to even raise this issue at all. It is sedition pure and simple. “Any region caught leaving the State of California will be shot for desertion. Anyone advocating the leaving of California will for sedition.“
I can’t tell you how much this really bothers me-and how much I hate people who dare to speak in its favor. California has a long and proud history-and until it started letting crackpots control the voting process by passing things like Prop-13 and giving credence to assholes like Grover Norquist. It deserves a lot better. The United States has a long and proud history too. And don’t kid yourself, if an idea like this were to come to pass, it would destroy the United States. Maybe not right away but it would start the US down a path it does not want to go down. I could see the US going the way of Europe-or Africa, increasingly smaller political entities, when in reality it needs bigger ones.
God this makes me angry. It really does. The reason the Union is inviolate-is that it forces, in the end, the people to decide, maybe after a lot of stupidity-such as that we are seeing from our teabagger crazed loons, maybe not-that they have to work to solve problems. Taking the lazy way out is not an option. You don’t get to break up states! ( yes Texas, this applies to you too, spare the crap about your “special” status. You forfeited that when you took so many military bases.)
The State has problems, yes. The US has problems too. But the solution is not to break up the Union-or to cede the solutions to a solution similar to the Balkans-and we have seen how well THAT has worked. Both California and the US have straightforward solutions to their problems. They just need to the will to exercise them-and stop letting crazed lunatics control the agenda.
I DID NOT give 29 years of my life in the service of my nation-only to see it kidnapped by rich bastards who care not a whit about it. NO!
Play nice in the comments or I will boot your ass in a heartbeat. I feel very strongly on this issue.