Secession Fever (“Vermont Libre” column)

By Thomas Naylor

Secession fever is spreading across America just as it did back in 1776 and 1861. More than forty states now have active political independence movements committed to the peaceful withdrawal of their respective states from the Union. As a result, the United States may never be the same. Indeed, in the not too distant future, it may cease to exist, just like its former nemesis, the U.S.S.R.

How can this be? Our government has lost its moral authority. It has become a cross between an oligarchy and an autocracy disguised as a democracy—just like the former Soviet Union. Our nation is no longer sustainable economically, politically, militarily, socially, culturally, or environmentally. Because of its size, it is ungovernable and, therefore, unfixable.

Empire's Fall: Walking Towards A New Vermont

Five years ago this past September, key members of the U.S. intelligence and political elite successfully orchestrated the most powerful “false flag” operation in modern world history. Nineteen Arab “terrorists” – individuals trained, funded, and armed from within the United States empire's own largely secretive intelligence networks – took the blame for the World Trade Center towers' collapse and the deaths of more than 3,000 individuals. The subsequent “shock and awe” engendered by the 9/11 attacks has generated a whole host of consequences, including the launching of a “war on terror” with no end and the curtailing of civil liberties here at home, and the militant expansion of the U.S. empire's policy of “full spectrum dominance” as it wages resource wars and practices “disaster capitalism” throughout the world.

Peak Oil “Powerdown” – A Conversation With Richard Heinberg

Interview conducted by Vermont Commons editor Rob Williams

Q. You've just written a new book called “The Oil Depletion Protocol.” How does it differ from your previous two books about global Peak Oil?

Mad Sheep: A Vermont Farm Family Challenges National Animal Identification

By Linda Faillace

The National Animal Identification System (NAIS) is the latest in a series of Orwellian schemes developed by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) to promote corporate agriculture while weakening, if not destroying, small farms across America. The stated goal of the program is, “to establish a system that can identify all premises and animals that have had direct contact with a foreign animal disease or a domestic disease of concern within 48 hours of discovery.” Anyone who owns poultry, deer, elk, horses, goats, sheep, cattle, llamas, alpacas, pigs, and/or fish will be impacted by the proposed program.

Secede To Succeed:

An Address Given
At the October 28, 2005 Vermont Statewide Secession Convention

By Jane Dwinell

Who here loves Vermont?

Who thinks Vermont is a special place?

How many of you are residents of Vermont?

How many of you were born here?

How many of you have ancestors who go back several generations?

My heritage runs deep in this place, this city, this building.

I walked past here every day of my high school career, pausing more often than not to admire Ceres on top of the golden dome. My ancestor, Dwight Dwinell, carved that very lovely statue, the symbol of our agricultural richness.

Most Likely To Secede?: Debating Independence in Vermont Classrooms

By Sydney Copp

Why debate secession in Vermont classrooms?

In this past year, my first as a middle school social studies teacher, I decided to attend a conference. As I perused the titles of the many workshops offered at the annual conference of the Vermont Alliance for the Social Studies (VASS), one in particular caught my eye.

“Vermont: Most Likely to Secede.”

Funny, and also quite true, I thought to myself. I decided it was worth missing the other workshops I had been contemplating. I doubt either the workshop on cemeteries or the one on geography would have had my blood pumping quite the way it did as I sat in on Rob Williams' presentation on the prospect of Vermont secession.

Local Currency: A Revolution That Sounds Like a Whisper…

By Amy M. Kirschner

“When the French and Russian revolutions overthrew the established orders in their countries (in 1786 and 1917, respectively), they changed just about everything, but not their monetary systems.”
Bernard A. Lietaer, Of Human Wealth.

Vermont has a long history of challenging the status quo and being fiercely politically independent. As we look to the future, especially as the global economy forces new dependence, it is imperative that we strive for an economic independence to match our political independence.

"Money and Liberty"

By Adrian Kuzminski

The U.S. monetary system has been a scandal for a long time; whether it
can continue much longer without intolerable social, political, and
ecological consequences is an open question. Yet most Americans don't have
a clue about it. "It is well enough that people of the nation do not
understand our banking and monetary system," Henry Ford said, "for if they
did, I believe there would be a revolution before tomorrow morning." Our
current monetary system, to be blunt, is an unjustified monopoly granted to
private interests to create public money for their private profit. For this

U.S. Electoral Fraud: “Critical Condition” for U.S. Democracy

By Joel Bleifuss and Steven F. Freeman

During the past four years, official counts in U.S. elections have increasingly been conducted not by a transparent public count, but rather by voting machines that have been proven unreliable, have been shown to be easily hackable, and, in some instances, have been manufactured by corporations controlled by highly partisan individuals.

Older voting machines and processes had their problems. Indeed, Florida 2000 provided a window into problems, such as manipulation of voter rolls, minority vote “spoilage” and un-audited voting systems.

My I.R.S. Story

By Jacqueline Brook

(Note: The identity of I.R.S. agents is a matter
of National Security--believe it or not! Thus, I
shall call the I.R.S. agent that I've been dealing
with "X.")

I began not filing and not paying Federal taxes in
2001. I believe that if I contribute to paying the
salaries of blatant criminals, I make myself
complicit in the crimes being committed.

I believe, with every fiber in my body, that 9/11
was an inside-job.)

The Offense Department (let's call a spade a spade)
and its "Long War" are utterly abhorrent to me.

Abu Ghraib? Well...don't even get me started!