[Polpolion]

Who was that ex-KGB guy that predicted that the US would split up soon?

[Bobboau]

"There's a 1 trillion dollar a yaer deficit in the white house and we're terrified"

[Janos]

Who was that ex-KGB guy that predicted that the US would split up soon?

the one who thought eastern Siberia would fall to the yellow chinanmen andf California would unite with Utah or something like that?

[Polpolion]

Who was that ex-KGB guy that predicted that the US would split up soon?

the one who thought eastern Siberia would fall to the yellow chinanmen andf California would unite with Utah or something like that?

Yeah. The one that thought New England would join the EU and Canada would take over the Midwest. 

[Nuclear1]

It can also legally leave at any time. Texas was an independent country before we annexed it, IIRC, and it came in by treaty with its own special provisions.

No, it can't leave.

US Supreme Court held in 1868 that Texas, like any other of the states, has no right under the US Constitution to secede from the Union.  Any act of the legislature in any state attempting to do so is null and void.

Texas may have had the right to secede when it was originally entered into the Union, but not so anymore.

[iamzack]

There it is, then.

[Rhymes]

Plus there's the fact that, if they tried, the US Armed forces could probably blow them to Kingdom Come.

[Blue Lion]

I vaguely recall something like that happening a few years back. I can't imagine it would get any easier.

[MP-Ryan]

"There's a 1 trillion dollar a yaer deficit in the white house and we're terrified"

The fault for which lies more with previous Presidents than the current one, to be fair.

[redsniper]

Plus there's the fact that, if they tried, the US Armed forces could probably blow them to Kingdom Come.

But.... all the armed forces come from Texas...

[NGTM-1R]

But.... all the armed forces come from Texas...

Actually, Kansas provides about half and Georgia does the other.

[iamzack]

Don't forget NC.

[BloodEagle]

But.... all the armed forces come from Texas...

Actually, Kansas provides about half and Georgia does the other.

Don't forget NC.

Serious cat wants statistics. 

[NGTM-1R]

It's more a matter of "corporate culture". The Navy generally doesn't have a detectable point of origin, save for senior NCOs who all apparently want to be from New England or Alaska. The Marines all want to be from Virginia.

Everybody in the Army wants to be from Georgia or Kansas depending on the prevailing mood that year.

The Air Force wants to be from somewhere in the Midwest.

[Janos]

"There's a 1 trillion dollar a yaer deficit in the white house and we're terrified"

The fault for which lies more with previous Presidents than the current one, to be fair.

well you see they didn't give **** about taxes or deficit until the BLACK KENYAN SUPERMUSLIM SOCIALIST won the white house, after which the GOP lunatics immediately started to oppose... well, everything.

It's quite entertaining, actually. Besides the crazy secession talk and crazy birther talk, there is also steadfast opposition to tax breaks for middle class. And many people who are completely reliant on social security propose both the idea that social security be gutted and banks/car companies/whatever are left to fall. They oppose economical stimulus packets - but only when it's the Black Man from Kenya; when republicans did it it was a-ok. Among all this lunacy there's also a leadership crisis, Sarah Palin, Michael "Hip-Hop" Steele and crazy people advocating violence.

It's a failure so excessive that it becomes a farce.

edit: Oh it was Bobboau who said this, I was kinda perplexed. Hey Bob, why did the crazy republicans only start to ***** and moan after they lost the elections, and why didn't they oppose spending when it skyrocketed during the previous administration? The trade deficit hit record numbers continuously after 2001. I mean, if you're worried about deficit and debt spending perhaps you could've protested during the economic increase, when you kinda had a chance of reducing it.

[karajorma]

Can't people just go to those tea parties and get everyone there to sign away their rights to the social security benefits they're complaining about so much?

[Janos]

Can't people just go to those tea parties and get everyone there to sign away their rights to the social security benefits they're complaining about so much?

I ****ing wish, and also let their bussiness fall as well. As well as to collect on their debt, and unability to grant any loans.

BOOTSTRAP YOUR WAY OUT OF THAT ****HEAD

[Slasher]

Plus there's the fact that, if they tried, the US Armed forces could probably blow them to Kingdom Come.

This fact seems to escape many who indulge in their little "oh I'm gonna stick it to the federal government" masturbation fantasies.   

[Janos]

Plus there's the fact that, if they tried, the US Armed forces could probably blow them to Kingdom Come.

This fact seems to escape many who indulge in their little "oh I'm gonna stick it to the federal government" masturbation fantasies.   

They seem to think that because they are right and awesome, and because army is right and awesome, then of course the army would be on their side!

[McCall]

Dunno about there, but here in England they're always banging on about making government more local and accountable (never really happens of course - it just gets more expensive and meddling).

We've got some delightfully tax-absorbant devolved parliaments set up in Scotland and Northern Ireland though. They make a lot of noise and cost a lot of money. Not sure what else they do practically apart from maybe being an olive branch to local nationalists; might need a Scot or Irishman to educate me on that.

Kinda seems like secession would be the ultimate expression if this. Fissioning into smaller bits that have their own elections (hopefully!) and policies.

That happened in the Baltic didn't it, with the old Soviet republics? Mind you, it also happened in the Balkans, and no-one ever uses the politics-verb Balkanize in a positive way...