Louisiana petitions Obama for secession.

Discussion in 'Miscellaneous' started by T'Girl, Nov 10, 2012.

  1. SeerSGB

    SeerSGB Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Oct 13, 2003
    Location:
    RIP Leonard Nimoy
    I'll never understand the mindset of people that support stuff like this: We love America, America is great...We love America so much we want to secede from the Union.
     
  2. Squiggy

    Squiggy FrozenToad Admiral

    Joined:
    Jul 5, 2006
    Location:
    Left Bank
    Yes. Look how well Haiti is doing now.
     
  3. T'Girl

    T'Girl Vice Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Aug 20, 2009
    Location:
    T'Girl
    Hmmm, because those waters would be immediately ajacent to Louisiana's physical coast line?

    A 12 mile territorial limit and a 200 mile exclusive economic zone.

    There is no "violent uprising against an authority or government" here. It's all rather polite and civilized.

    Thank you, now can you please refer President Obama to the War Powers Act?

    When it came to the "aid would come pouring in" part, Haiti in that regard did quite well.

    :)
     
  4. 6079SmithW

    6079SmithW Vice Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Sep 18, 2009
    Their mindset is that they believe their state/s are the real America as formed by the Founding Fathers while the governments of other states and the feds are impostors and unconstitutional.
     
  5. sojourner

    sojourner Admiral In Memoriam

    Joined:
    Sep 4, 2008
    Location:
    Just around the bend.
    Bazinga.
     
  6. shivkala

    shivkala Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

    Joined:
    Apr 26, 2004
    Location:
    shivkala
    Louisiana was only the first of 15 states currently, to have filed petitions to secede.

    Unless I misunderstand though, it's a big disingenuous to say it's the states petitioning. Anyone can create a petition and I don't get the sense any of the Legislatures of the states are behind this.

    As of the time the article was written, Louisiana is 17,642 signatures from the President even considering their petition.
     
  7. iguana_tonante

    iguana_tonante Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Sep 15, 2006
    Location:
    Italy, EU
    Urgh. No. The US is both a republic (a form of state in which the country is considered a "common good" and not the legal propriety of the sovereign) and a democracy (a system of governing in which all citizens have an equal say in the choices of government). I don't know why this is so difficult for some people.

    To answer QCzar's question: no, not really. :lol:
     
  8. Alidar Jarok

    Alidar Jarok Everything in moderation but moderation Moderator

    Joined:
    Apr 14, 2003
    Location:
    Norfolk, VA
    The President did comply with the act - restricting the US's role to logistical support consistent with our obligations to NATO beyond the point that the act authorized the President to act unilaterally.

    While this may often be what happens, it's certainly not a mandatory rule under international law and is subject to other rules and restrictions.
     
  9. Admiral2

    Admiral2 Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Sep 14, 2004
    Location:
    Langley
    Um, maybe it's because those people grew up saying the Pledge of Allegiance in school and know they didn't pledge allegiance to a "democratic republic" of the United States? Maybe it's because nowhere in the Constitution is the United States or any state government referred to as a democracy? Maybe it's because states and territories call themselves many things (republics, commonwealths, protectorates) but not one is referred to as a democratic republic?

    The United States of America is a REPUBLIC. It was designed as a republic based on the First Republic (Rome), which had some democratic processes but was not a DIRECT DEMOCRACY like Athens or Sparta, something most people who are actually educated in history more rigid than Social Studies actually get. Perhaps you ought to pay more attention to people who find your idea of a democratic republic "difficult."
     
  10. Alidar Jarok

    Alidar Jarok Everything in moderation but moderation Moderator

    Joined:
    Apr 14, 2003
    Location:
    Norfolk, VA
    Sparta wasn't a direct democracy.
     
  11. iguana_tonante

    iguana_tonante Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Sep 15, 2006
    Location:
    Italy, EU
    Or maybe you should realize there are more countries in the world than the US? Forms of government do not depend by the words printed in their own constitution, but by the actual workings of their state (otherwise, North Korea would be a lovely Democratic Republic, while it's actually a dictatorial quasi-monarchy). Personally, I think it's adorable that you base your understanding of political science on the "pledge" you recited mindlessly in grade school, but probably it's just me.

    Oh, look. You capitalized the important word, "direct". Athens was a direct democracy. It was not called a "republic" simply because the word was not invented yet. Rome was the "first" republic simply because res publica is a Latin word. Athenian democracy, Roman republic, and the US federation can all be considered republics, because the state was not established as a propriety of the ruler, but it was collectively "owned" by their own citizens. They were also all democracies, because the final power rested in the people (by direct voting, special assemblies, or elected representatives, and often by all three). Shocking, I know!

    Lulz. If that's the history they taught you in university, I'm very sorry for you. But you are right about one thing: your vision is very rigid, beheld by school-book definitions and dogmatic formulas, without much understanding of the meaning of it.

    I rarely pay attention to people who don't know what they are talking about. (And especially if they present themselves "people who are actually educated" in the topic and get crazily defensive when they are challenged in their narrow vision.)
     
  12. Gaith

    Gaith Vice Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    May 11, 2008
    Location:
    Oregon
    ... Because they've heard of the Senate?
     
  13. iguana_tonante

    iguana_tonante Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Sep 15, 2006
    Location:
    Italy, EU
    Heard without paying too much attention, I guess.
     
  14. J.T.B.

    J.T.B. Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

    Joined:
    Jun 14, 2005
    I've listened to people harp on these particular and parochially US-centered definitions for more than 25 years but it seems like they will be around as long as there is AM talk radio. L'Iguana already gave it in a nutshell: a republic is a government where the supreme power resides with the people, IOW not a monarchy, and a democracy is where the people exercise that power directly or indirectly through elected representatives. Madison made a distinction between the two in Federalist 10, using republic to mean representative democracy. Some people hold to that, fine, but that does not corner the market on what the words mean to most of the world, as reflected even in US-published dictionaries.

    Something most people who are actually educated in history more rigid than Social Studies actually get.

    Justin
     
  15. Spot's Meow

    Spot's Meow Vice Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Jul 1, 2004
    Location:
    Hotel California
    Seriously, people should really read the other thread titles before starting repeat topics.
     
  16. M'Sharak

    M'Sharak Definitely Herbert. Maybe. Moderator

    Joined:
    Aug 22, 2002
    Location:
    Terra Inlandia
    I seem to recall Gaith advocating that the US Senate be abolished. (Here's one recent occasion - there have been others.) He thinks it unfair that half a million people in Wyoming are represented by two senators while the thirty-seven million in California are also represented by... two senators. It's been his little bongo to beat for quite some time now, and I suspect he's doing the same here.
     
  17. Gaith

    Gaith Vice Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    May 11, 2008
    Location:
    Oregon
    Well, iguana_tonante wrote that
    The US is both a republic (a form of state in which the country is considered a "common good" and not the legal propriety of the sovereign) and a democracy (a system of governing in which all citizens have an equal say in the choices of government). (emphasis added)
    That bolded part just isn't true - consider DC citizens, who have no Senatorial or House of Representatives representation at all. (No, nonvoting delegates don't count.)

    The US is a republic of democratic states and territories. Not a democracy by iguana_tonante's own definition. I don't see why this simple observation merits condescension.
     
  18. Sector 7

    Sector 7 Vice Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Mar 27, 2008
    Location:
    Rural North Carolina
     
  19. Drago-Kazov

    Drago-Kazov Fleet Captain

    Joined:
    Jul 26, 2012
    Do you guys think Texas would reelected Bush as pres if it had secceded like Rick Perry said at the time?
     
  20. Roger Wilco

    Roger Wilco Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Nov 27, 2004
    That's exactly what I was thinking of actually.

    It's one of my fundamental convictions, that peoples that want to be independent and form their own nation should be allowed to do so. That goes for the Scottish, and the Basques, the Palestinians the South Sudanese, the East Timoreans, and the Quebecois, the Tibetans, the Chechens and for all I care also the Louisianians and Texans, I support them all.

    Of course you have a stronger argument for wanting independence if there's actually some oppression going on, instead of just sour grapes about losing an election, but I also seriously doubt Louisiana would vote for independence once the initial disappointment subsides.