Here are the most prominent mentions of Vermon secession that have floated in from google alerts on secession since early February.

Mostly good news - and one reminder that there’s lots of organizing to do.

Luckily the U.S. government is doing most of the hard work of deligitimatizing itself!

First, let’s not forget Christopher Kethum’s excellent “GOOD” article “Vermont: Most Likely To Secede?” was re-printed all over, including the Huffington Post.

The Charleston City Paper linked to Vermont Commons Youtube video of the New England cable news story on Vermont secession.

A Time magazine article “Vermont Votes its own way” starts: “The Green Mountain State was once an independent republic, and it still goes its own way; a 2007 statewide poll found 13% support for secession.”

John Wilmerding’s (Brattleboro, Vermont) excellent letter to the editor (reprinted here by Rob Williams) stating among other things:
A careful study of history will reward one with the knowledge that Vermont would never have joined the Union were it not for the Bill of Rights.
Now, however, under the crypto-fascist Bush regime, not only have our Constitutionally-guaranteed rights been abrogated and trampled ... the tyrant currently occupying the White House is making a mockery of the checks and balances put in place by our forefathers. He is doing so by attaching signing statements' to a huge number of new laws, in effect promising to break those laws! This is a despot who is placing himself above the law, and how ironic that most of Congress is going right along with him and his Neocon supporters.
If the 'democratic system' held forth any hope of change, I would say to stay the course and give our electorate the chance to change things. But for all intents and purposes, we have descended to where we have a one-party system, masquerading as a two-party system. It is impossible for any third party, or candidate, to gain any headway in the process, because of the huge investments of authority and influence into the hands of special interests.

Vermont secession was listed prominently in a February 19 2008 Guartian article Why Kosova could be the first of many secessionists. And it has been mentioned in a dozen odd small blogs which mostly support secessionist sentiments. Including the VermontCynic who says un-cynically “An independent Vermont is an idea that is worth a serious thought.”

Of course there was bad news, blared about the world by the Associated Press in February:
"Secession movement doesn't get onto town ballots: Supporters of a movement to have Vermont seceed from the the United states aren't going to get their issues before voters on any Town Meeting Day ballots.
Secession organizer Rob Williams of Waitsfield says people in a number of towns are still interested in getting the issue before voters. But he's not sure where that's going to happen or who's going to do it. Williams is among a group of academics and writers who believe the United States is on its last legs - economically, morally and otherwise. They want the state of Vermont to peacefully secede from the US and believe that an independent Vermont could be self-sufficient.

Nevertheless, the movement is spreading in the northeast:
New Hamshire Progressives and Libertarians Talking - NH progressive activists join right wing libertarians in considering secession.
Secession, long a dream of right wing libertarian activists, is now the talk of progressive circles.
A prominent left-wing politician has called for a forum sometime in the summer on the issue.
While the Free State Project has discussed secession, they soon may find their cause of secession joined by leftists who would oppose the creation of a laissez faire capitalist system in New Hampshire. Both libertarians and left wingers in the Second Vermont Republic movement have called for secession in order to bring about more sustainable economic relationships and more democratic government
The left and the libertarian right share common goals of opposing war and militarism and bringing about more democratic and decentralized politics. To that end, both groups can welcome this discussion.

On April 10th Middlebury College published a long interview with Rob Williams and Kirkpatrick Sales which they entitled “Secession: not just a thing of the past.”

And on April 15th Cornell University editors called their secession article: “Secession: Not just for old men from Vermont.” Oh, those kids! They were particularly bemused that Kirkpatrick Sale of the Middlebury Institute and a former editor of their own publication is a lead organizer.

Meanwhile the obnoxious anonymous blogger at the trashy VermontSecession.blogspot.com has outed by name his co-conspirators to smearing, libeling and denigrating any individual who may have had any passing acquaintance with any racist idiot any time in their whole life - while not having the courage to out himself, of course. Oh, and if you don't smear, libel and denigrate such people under YOUR own name, he'll trash you too! An excerpt from the February 11 entry:

While the traffic here has been miniscule in blog terms (8,500+ hits since I started counting), it has served to get the truth out about SVR. Even that wouldn't have been possible without the assistance of a number of Vermont blogs, most notably John Odum at Green Mountain Daily and JD Ryan at fivebeforechaos. Out of state web resources such as the Anti-Defamation League, the Southern Poverty Law Center, the Anti-Neo-Confederate and others have been invaluable websites for finding the information that "put the pieces together" regarding Thomas Naylor's longterm, deep ties with the white supremacist, neo-Confederate movement. The thoughts, comments and suggestions of Odum, JD, the SPLC's Intelligence Director, Mark Potok, Ed Sebesta at the Anti-Neo-Confederate, as well as many others, have all served to improve the quality of what's been posted here and this blog would have been poorer indeed were it not for each of them.

See my several much more constructive Vermont Common blog entries on the issues of racism and sectarianism and the benefits of secession for minorities.

Next time - the amazing growing interest in and growth of secessionist groups around the North American continent!