I received a newsletter in my mailbox today from "I America". Not "I Am America, and So Can You Too" - that I would have understood. After all, Stephen Colbert is running for president, so it stands to reason that he might have considered it beneficial to target Minnesotans while we were having the RNC stuffed up our confluence. Rather, it seems to be a strange politcal-in-the-flavor-of-conspiracy tract that offers me a number of things I can purchase only through the mail (no web site) from I America/Constellation E.A.R.T.H.
I love this sort of thing, and you can find a number of links to similar material on my blog, including an ad hoc conspiracy rant I wrote myself after reading Kooks. Most of what I America proposes is fairly harmless, but a few bits and pieces are choice. Such as Article I, Section 1, which asserts that "The United States, including its various branches, shall not deny any citizen, male or female, his or her Civil Rights in making Treaties with respect to foreign powers." Personally, I look forward to being best friends with Scotland after signing the Scot(t)s Treaty of 2008. I'm hoping it comes with free Scotch and a bunch of eggs dumped in bangers.
There are a few parts about parties getting $1 for each vote in an election. Reformation of the electoral college. Increased regulation of freedom of religion. And then we go back to "Each state shall establish a 'Sister Nation' from amongst the world powers. Immigration to the United States shall commence in its 'Sister State' until naturalized." There seems to be some belief here that if we let people immigrate into individual states, we'll represent some sort of world melting pot with so many ties to other countries that peace will ensue across the globe. But it sounds more like a recipe for U.S. Balkanization. Which is cool, because when Minnesota, presumably further settled by some Scandinavian state, goes to war with the Sconies (Wisconsin), presumably settled by Germans, we'll have the added benefit of all my kilted warrior Scot(t)s Treaty friends rushing onto the battlefield with their claymores and lopping off their cheese hats.
I'm going to forward it to Kyle next, becaues I believe the part about Toll Booths being unconstitutional may be a selling point as far as he's concerned.
1 comment:
I don't think toll booths should be considered unconstitutional. I simply think that state governments selling overall toll rights to private companies (often for extremely long term contracts) just to make a quick buck up front (for a small fraction of the the real take over time) is just short-sighted and stupid in the extreme. I think the same thing may happen with lotteries in some (many?) states?
In any case, if you (as a government) are going to set up a toll road, lottery, etc as a revenue stream to support various programs/projects in your state, make sure it serves that purpose. Don't just sell it off to create a short-term cash influx, or to cover up budget shortfalls that occur on your watch.
Toll roads in and of themselves don't get me wound up - you can choose whether to use them or not and pay for the convenience. I generally approve of use-based taxes. But when governments sell off public transit to private firms that use minimizing out-of-pocket expense as their starting point for supporting/maintaining facilities, I find that short sighted and inexcusable.
I'm stepping off my soapbox now :)
If you choose to adopt the "I America" philosophy, I would buddy up with the Germans in your hypothetical balkanized war. Despite what the Scandinavians might have everyone believe, while you're west of Sconie you're still firmly ensconced in the land of German transplants:
Minnesota 2000 population of Minnesota: 4,919,479 (2000 census)
Rank Ancestry % of Population
1. German 36.7
2. Norwegian 17.3
3. Irish 11.2
4. Swedish 9.9
5. English 6.3
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