SECOND REPUBLIC OF VERMONT

FREE VERMONT - GREEN MOUNTAIN VOICES OF INDEPENDENCE
E-ISSUE/NOVEMBER 2007: The "U.S. Out of Vermont" Issue
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Please circulate widely. Current monthly circulation: 2,500 citizens globally. We send one (and only one) e-mail to you each month.
We do not buy, sell, trade, taser, waterboard, or extraordinarily render this list. Questions? Contact webeditor@vtcommons.org.
HOMESTEAD SECURITY/PRIVACY STATEMENT: Unlike Homeland Security, your privacy matters to us.
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DONATE to VERMONT COMMONS.
Please support our fund-raising efforts for 2008, and receive FREE gifts in time for the holidays.
Including our new "Most Likely To Secede" T-Shirts - http://vtcommons.org/contribute.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS.
1. BAKING INDEPENDENCE! VIP Party at American Flatbread - December 8!
2. Support Us - Subscribe, donate, or buy independence gear.
3. V Tube - VC Video of the Month.
4. The Monthly Maul: News from the US Empire's Edge.
5. Web Site - What's New?
6. "U.S. Out of Vermont" Print Issue.
7. Free Vermont Town Meeting Initiative.
8. Our Sponsors.
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OUR MISSION: Welcome to the future of Vermont. Dateline - November 2007.
Read more about "Vermont Commons" multimedia newspaper here: www.vtcommons.org.
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FREE VERMONT STORE: Sport your support for Vermont independence.
Buy your Vermont independence bumper stickers, buttons, lapel pins and other gear.
New! "Most Likely to Secede" and "U.S. Out of Vermont" organic cotton in-state screened T-Shirts.
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EDITORIAL: U.S. OUT OF VERMONT - LONG LIVE THE "UNTIED STATES"
"U.S. Out Of Vermont.” How to explain the popularity of such sentiment?
Some of the energy is faddish, no doubt, while other left-leaning Bush-bashers reflexively point to, as a primary cause, the past seven years of “King George” and Vice Resident Cheney’s Beltway reign.
But “U.S. Out Of Vermont?” This from a state that has enthusiastically contributed, to the rest of the country, Ethan Allen’s defiance, John Deere’s plow, Ben and Jerry’s ice cream, Robert Frost’s poetry, Joseph Bentley’s science, Grace Potter’s music, John Dewey’s pedagogy, and more pancake syrup than you can shake a maple limb at? This from a state that has willingly sent its own sons (and now daughters, too, in the Iraqi desert and the Afghani mountains) to fight and die on behalf of America since the independent republic of Vermont joined the United States in 1791?
Read the whole editorial online at http://www.vtcommons.org.
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1. VIP: VERMONT INDEPENDENCE PARTY! Mark Your Calendars!
American Flatbread hosts a benefit bake for Vermont Commons on
SATURDAY, DECEMBER 8 at their Route 100 restaurant just south of Waitsfield.
Doors and the bar open at 4:30. First come, first served seating begins at 5:30.
Post-Bake party at the Purple Moon Pub begins around 8:00 p.m. Music! Performances! Fun!
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2. SUPPORT US.
Subscribe to "Vermont Commons" and keep up with the latest news related to
sustainability and nonviolent secession. Or, make a donation at our web site today!
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3. "V TUBE" VIDEO FEATURE.
Allez Allez! TeleQuebec TV Covers Vermont Independence.
QUOTE: "We have some nice values in the state I don't want us to forget - like self reliance."
View it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=spgkgtwuwYo
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4. THE MONTHLY MAUL: NEWS FROM US EMPIRE'S EDGE.

WOOD PELLET PARTY! St. Johnsbury Trains in new Energy Source
http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071101/BUSINESS/711010302/1003/RSS05

LAST IS BEST: Quiz - Vermont the lowest ranked state in the country in terms of...?
http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071027/NEWS02/710270306/1007/RSS02

BLEAK FOLIAGE?!: Climate Change Blamed for "Drab" Fall Colors in Vermont
http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071021/NEWS02/710210309/1007/RSS02

INCOME DISPARITY/Gap Widest in New England
http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071021/BUSINESS/710210304/1003/RSS05

AVOIDING THE VACCINE MACHINE: Increasing Numbers of Vermonters Refusing to Vaccinate Their Children
http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071018/NEWS01/710180316/1009/RSS01

"DECLARE VICTORY AND...": "The AIKEN FORMULA" - What did the Vermont Senator Really Say?
http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071019/NEWS01/71019002/1009/RSS01

BLACK MONDAY? Investors Seeing Troubling Signs In Markets
http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071018/BUSINESS/710180323/1003/RSS05

WINTER PRODUCE: Four Vermont Farms Now Providing Food All Year Round
http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071017/NEWS02/710170305/1007/RSS02

BORDER (DIS)ORDER: Leahy - U.S. Empire's Border "Security" Will Harm Vermont Businesses
http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071011/NEWS02/710110318/1007/RSS02

COFFEE, TEA OR...US? U.S. Government to U.S. Flying Public-You Must Seek Permission!
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article18549.htm

BIG LIE: Scott Ritter on the Bogus "Iran Threat" and US Imperial Foreign Policy
http://www.countercurrents.org/ritter091007.htm

SURPRISE! (NOT): Auto Industry Appeals Vermont's Legal Victory In Emissions Decision
http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071006/NEWS01/710060304/1009/RSS01

NRC'ED: Sanders Says Vermonters Mistrust Feds' Nuclear Regulatory Commission - "Captive Regulators, Anyone?"
http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071004/NEWS01/710040314/1009/RSS01

UNIVERSAL COVERAGE? Catamount Health Care Launched - Can Vermont Cover 65,000 Uninsured?
http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071006/NEWS01/710060305/1009/RSS01

EDITORIAL: "Bushvilles" and the Coming 'Great Depression'
http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071005/OPINION/710050329/1006/RSS06

LONGEVITY: Colchester maintenance worker Ray Jenkins receives "America's Oldest Worker" recognition
http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071005/NEWS02/710050305/1007/rss02

MEX WAR: The U.S. Empire's Senate Passes $459 Billion War Bill, Including $4 Billion to Control Mexican Border
http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071004/BUSINESS/710040313/1003/RSS05

VALUE ADDED: "Ethan Allen" Pres. on Globalization and VT Businesses: "Don't Make It Cheaper, make It Better."
http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071005/BUSINESS/710050312/1003/RSS05

EDITORIAL: The PATRIOT ACT and the US as a Fascist State
http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071005/OPINION/710050330/1006/RSS06
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5. BLOGGING INDEPENDENCE - What's New on the RSS?
Read weekly updates from our growing numbers of bloggers, including Carl Etnier on energy, Susan Ohanian
on education, Carol Moore on secession globally, Jim Hogue/Ethan Allen on the U.S. government, Greg Nixon
on 9/11 and the "military/terror complex," and Carolyn Baker on the U.S. Empire and the future.
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6. IN PRINT: The FALL 2007 "U.S. Out Of Vermont" Issue.
Robin McDermott on growing a statewide "Localvore" Movement.
Chris Morrow on the Virtues of Local Businesses.
Don Livingston on "The New England Secession Tradition" (III).
Erik Esckilsen's Interview with Vermont filmmaker Deb Ellis.
The Greenneck: Call and Response.
Rick Foley on "The Great Hydro Power Heist" (II).
and much more...including Carl Etnier and John Dowling Web Exclusives!
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7. FREE VERMONT - "200 TOWNS" CAMPAIGN.
Volunteer to bring the FREE VERMONT discussion to your town meeting!
Visit www.freevermont.net to find out more. All those in favor of a debate, e-mail us.
Free FREE VERMONT bumper stickers to all interested.
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8. OUR BUSINESS AND NONPROFIT PARTNERS.
American Flatbread.
Big Picture Cafe and Theater.
The Center for Whole Communities.
Chandler! Music Hall.
Chelsea Green.
Chipman Point Marina.
The Independent Enthusiast.
Jamieson Insurance.
Maple Wind Farm.
Middlebury Institute.
Northshire Books.
Second Vermont Republic.
Sellers and Company Architects.
Sugar Mountain Massage.
Vermont Businesses for Social Responsibility.
Vermont Society for the Study of Education.
Whole Systems Design.
Yestermorrow Design/Build School.
1824 House Inn.

Contact us to advertise in Vermont Commons.
Vermont Commons is a member of Vermont Businesses for Social Responsibility (VBSR).

MESSAGE FROM THE SECOND REPUBLIC OF VERMONT

EDITORIAL: U.S. Out Of Vermont: Long Live the “Untied States”

Last June, the Associated Press’ Vermont Bureau ran a news story entitled “Vermont Independence Movement Gains Traction.” Picked up by the national news wire, the article, written by Vermont Bureau Chief John Curran, made its way around the world via the Internet, prompting words of encouragement and ridicule, condemnation and support, from citizens all over the world. And, at Montpelier’s “Riverwalk Records” on State Street, one of the season’s hottest selling items became a simple black T-shirt reading “U.S. Out Of Vermont.” Despite the steep price - $20 each - the store sold more than 500 of them this past summer alone.

“U.S. Out Of Vermont.” How to explain the popularity of such sentiment?
Some of the energy is faddish, no doubt, while other left-leaning Bush-bashers reflexively point to, as a primary cause, the past seven years of “King George” and Vice Resident Cheney’s Beltway reign.

But “U.S. Out Of Vermont?” This from a state that has enthusiastically contributed, to the rest of the country, Ethan Allen’s defiance, John Deere’s plow, Ben and Jerry’s ice cream, Robert Frost’s poetry, Joseph Bentley’s science, Grace Potter’s music, John Dewey’s pedagogy, and more pancake syrup than you can shake a maple limb at? This from a state that has willingly sent its own sons (and now daughters, too, in Iraqi desert and the Afghani mountains) to fight and die on behalf of America since the independent republic of Vermont joined the United States in 1791?

Perhaps the citizens of Vermont, along with the rest of the world, are beginning to realize that the United States is now longer the democratic republic we once were.
Indeed, as Americans, we are now citizens of an Empire ruled by an ever-more-powerful military/industrial/media/energy complex.

And the problem, the tragedy, of the United States is one of scale. We are simply too BIG.

We are a nation where each lone Congressman down the road from K Street represents more than 635,000 individual citizens. We are a country where even state and local elections are now (mostly) conducted via computerized touch screens monitored by proprietary corporate computer codes. We live in a surveillance state where all of our daily transactions are increasingly monitored, collected and stored by a faceless few whose own visages we never see. We move in the midst of what former Bush I HUD regulator Catherine Austin Fitts calls an imperial “tapeworm economy,” a system created by an unholy alliance between the captains of D.C.’s beltway and the captains of industry – “corporatism” born out of the fires of Lincoln’s “civil war.”

What’s hot now, in our globalized 21st century world, is what author Naomi Klein refers to (in her forthcoming book) as The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism: simply stated, the “shock and awe” creation of stupendous profits by the very few through exploiting the misery of the many. This includes war-making and counter-“terrorism” efforts (increasingly confused as the same thing) or the profiting from other disasters: real (Katrina), imagined (Avian Flu), or manufactured (9/11).

This is what the U.S., as an Empire, has become, as we enter the 21st century.
And no amount of big heartedness, generosity, or good will – qualities that actual working Americans of all political stripes possess, in spades – will turn the ship of Empire away from a rendezvous with destiny, in the form of climate change, global Peak Oil, an endless war on “terror,” global financial meltdown, and the fruitless (though very profitable, for some) pursuit of an imperial policy of “full spectrum dominance” – U.S. the Colossus attempting to bestride the entire world, and (I’m not kidding) outer space, too.

Unless.

Unless we “untie” the United States.

U.S. out of Vermont. And Kansas. And Florida. And Mississippi. And Ohio. And California. Indeed, citizen movements in no fewer than twenty-five other states are exploring secession. Vermont is not alone here.

The “Untied States.”

But where do we start?

We start where we live. And work. And play. We’ve been exploring this question for more than two years now – in print and online.

Here’s a short list:

We start with “homestead security:” inventing new forms of renewable energy to power our homes, our workplaces, and our communities.

We start with “food sovereignty:” learning how to grow, harvest and store our own food again, and supporting our struggling family farmers all over the country who are doing the same.

We start with “people power:” re-inventing local and mass transportations systems that use less energy more efficiently.

We start with genuine financial freedom: collectively investing in local economies and local currencies – the Berkshares project, Ithaca Hours, and our own Burlington Bread all provide models and lessons for what works and what doesn’t.
And this list is just a beginning.

Ultimately, untying the Empire in this new century will not begin in the DC corridors of power, or corporate shareholder meetings, or the control rooms at CNN and FOX news.

It will begin, not with the U.S., but with us.
U.S. out of Vermont.

Long live the “Untied States.”
Rob Williams
Editor