# We the People Petitions.....



## Apatheticviews (Mar 21, 2010)

https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petitions

The current "rash" (about 40+) of states requesting to peacefully leave the Union is rather amusing. I do like that many of them quote the Declaration of Independence.

For your entertainment and discussion.


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## Snow Hill Pond (Aug 10, 2011)

Apatheticviews said:


> https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petitions
> 
> The current "rash" (about 40+) of states requesting to peacefully leave the Union is rather amusing. I do like that many of them quote the Declaration of Independence.
> 
> For your entertainment and discussion.


In 21st century America, even a rebel yell requires filling out the right paperwork.


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## Apatheticviews (Mar 21, 2010)

Snow Hill Pond said:


> In 21st century America, even a rebel yell requires filling out the right paperwork.


I'm just hoping the President gets AHEAD of this one. With the Texas petition at 100k~ and 4-5 others at 25k each, he'd best respond quickly. The last thing he needs is to answer a 1M mark petition (or combination). He's already been accused of Executive Power Abuse, and lack of Transparency (which WTP was supposed to help fix).

Nobody really wants the union to break up, but this has the potential for a volatile wake up call. All empires fall, and if the president is savvy, he'll make sure it's not on his watch.


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## VictorRomeo (Sep 11, 2009)

Any of you ever watch the TV show Jericho?! Interesting storyline.


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## mrkleen (Sep 21, 2007)

Let them leave.....and cut off all power, water, highway repair and federal assistance at the border. Bunch of wingnuts wouldnt last a week on their own.


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## Shaver (May 2, 2012)

mrkleen said:


> Let them leave.....and cut off all power, water, highway repair and federal assistance at the border. Bunch of wingnuts wouldnt last a week on their own.


Some of those guys in the Idaho mountains wouldn't even notice. :icon_smile_wink:


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## hardline_42 (Jan 20, 2010)

mrkleen said:


> Let them leave.....and cut off all power, water, highway repair and federal assistance at the border. Bunch of wingnuts wouldnt last a week on their own.


Project much?


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## Apatheticviews (Mar 21, 2010)

mrkleen said:


> Let them leave.....and cut off all power, water, highway repair and federal assistance at the border. Bunch of wingnuts wouldnt last a week on their own.


You missed where I said FORTY (40) states. As in 40/50 or 80%. If 80% of the states were to leave, there wouldn't be a US.


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## VictorRomeo (Sep 11, 2009)

Apatheticviews said:


> You missed where I said FORTY (40) states. As in 40/50 or 80%. If 80% of the states were to leave, there wouldn't be a US.


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## Apatheticviews (Mar 21, 2010)

Check out the states who have requested secession. You might want to change the strips to a jigsaw puzzle.


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## CuffDaddy (Feb 26, 2009)

Apatheticviews said:


> Check out the states who have requested secession. You might want to change the strips to a jigsaw puzzle.


No states have requested secession. Yahoos in various states have requested secession.


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## VictorRomeo (Sep 11, 2009)

CuffDaddy said:


> No states have requested secession. Yahoos in various states have requested secession.


This. It's an absurd notion that the government from any State within the Union would actually want to secede.

The petition only guarantees one thing when it receives a critical mass - a response from the White House. Nothing more.

Can you guess what that response might be?


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## TSWalker (Nov 2, 2011)

Any attorneys on the board care to comment on the Smith act's relevance to this? I do not find sedition amusing.


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## Shaver (May 2, 2012)

TSWalker said:


> Any attorneys on the board care to comment on the Smith act's relevance to this? I do not find sedition amusing.


isn't that only applicable to attempts using force or violence?


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## CuffDaddy (Feb 26, 2009)

I am a southerner, born and bred, both geographically and culturally. I had many ancestors fight on the side of the confederacy. One rode with General Forrest. Another's exploits in battle means that today the family surname can be found on markers at Shiloh, Chickamauga, and other places. So I have always been sympathetic to the idea that states have the right to seccede from the Union. I strongly believe that the southern states were right, from a legal* point of view, in 1861.

*But we fought a war about that. Lots of people died. The issue is settled. States cannot seccede. *

The idea that these petitions should be taken seriously is a joke. Millions of people took the "birther" claims seriously. They were a joke, and were treated by the administration as such. That approach was the right one. They will take a similar approach here. There is no more reason to take these petitions seriously than those filed to acknowledge that UFO's landed in Roswell, NM.

*You don't argue with crazy homeless people. Even if they put their rantings in "petition" form.*

* Not from an ethical point of view. Slavery was, obviously, abhorent.


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## Snow Hill Pond (Aug 10, 2011)

CuffDaddy said:


> I am a southerner, born and bred, both geographically and culturally. I had many ancestors fight on the side of the confederacy. One rode with General Forrest. Another's exploits in battle means that today the family surname can be found on markers at Shiloh, Chickamauga, and other places. So I have always been sympathetic to the idea that states have the right to seccede from the Union. I strongly believe that the southern states were right, from a legal* point of view, in 1861.
> 
> *But we fought a war about that. Lots of people died. The issue is settled. States cannot seccede. *
> 
> ...


It's just a lot of angry people blowing off steam. Let them vent.


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## Apatheticviews (Mar 21, 2010)

Key words being "a lot of angry people"


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## TSWalker (Nov 2, 2011)

Shaver said:


> isn't that only applicable to attempts using force or violence?


That would be my main question to the legal professionals on the forum.

I'm not suggesting we hang the petition-starters for treason, but I think of the girl in the news recently who tweeted her hope that "the n***** be assassinated" and I wonder if there are any potential (though unlikely) repercussions for these signers.


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## Apatheticviews (Mar 21, 2010)

Apparently we're up to 45 states now (with petitions). A quick glance shows about 10 over the 25k mark granting a response.

This isn't just a red/blue thing, or even sour grapes. People are starting to get fed up, and they're shouting from the roofs.

No, I don't think secession is possible. However a National Convention is, and "government has to realize it doesn't have Rights. It has powers granted by the people. Sooner or later the people will get angry enough to start taking matters into their own hands.


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## drlivingston (Jun 21, 2012)

I can just see the president of Alabama living in a white mobile home.:crazy:


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## Apatheticviews (Mar 21, 2010)

TSWalker said:


> That would be my main question to the legal professionals on the forum.
> 
> I'm not suggesting we hang the petition-starters for treason, but I think of the girl in the news recently who tweeted her hope that "the n***** be assassinated" and I wonder if there are any potential (though unlikely) repercussions for these signers.


As long as its peaceful, you are protected under the 1st ammendment. On the standard security questionnaire it asks whether you have ever called for the VIOLENT overthrow of the government, but this falls under both freedom of speech and assembly.


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## Snow Hill Pond (Aug 10, 2011)

Apatheticviews said:


> Key words being "a lot of angry people"


Anger is natural. I don't know when it became politically incorrect to acknowledge that. Adults channel their anger towards non-destructive actions. Are you saying that the angry people won't behave like adults?


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## Apatheticviews (Mar 21, 2010)

Snow Hill Pond said:


> Anger is natural. I don't know when it became politically incorrect to acknowledge that. Adults channel their anger towards non-destructive actions. Are you saying that the angry people won't behave like adults?


I'm saying angry people won't behave like PEOPLE. Individuals are generally speaking able to act like adults when angry. People act like stampeding cattle.

I'd love to have more faith in mankind, but frankly I don't trust the 600 people sitting congress to keep their heads when they are angry (Iraq & Afghanistan come to mind). Why would I trust 300,000 and growing other citizens.


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## Apatheticviews (Mar 21, 2010)

49 states. All but Maryland now.


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## VictorRomeo (Sep 11, 2009)

It seems then as if the stampeeding classes who outright reject any notion of socialism are now heading straight to anarchy as an ideology.... Now that I could dig.....


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## Apatheticviews (Mar 21, 2010)

VictorRomeo said:


> It seems then as if the stampeeding classes who outright reject any notion of socialism are now heading straight to anarchy as an ideology.... Now that I could dig.....


It would get rid of a lot of lawyers...


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## Bjorn (May 2, 2010)

I foresee an exodus of disgruntled white people to the dark side of the moon in 2035


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## Apatheticviews (Mar 21, 2010)

Bjorn said:


> I foresee an exodus of disgruntled white people to the dark side of the moon in 2035


It will be tough.. they dismantled the US Space program....


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## CuffDaddy (Feb 26, 2009)

Apatheticviews said:


> No, I don't think secession is possible. However a National Convention is, and "government has to realize it doesn't have Rights. It has powers granted by the people.


Yeah, that's why we have elections and courts.

There are always a bunch of people very p!ssed off at the people in charge. I had many of the same emotions in 2004 (the most important election of my liftetime - and we blew it, with real consequences), but I didn't expect any special treatment just because I felt so strongly. You don't get extra votes just because you're really, really p!ssed.

Thank God.


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## CuffDaddy (Feb 26, 2009)

Apatheticviews said:


> I'd love to have more faith in mankind, but frankly I don't trust the 600 people sitting congress to keep their heads when they are angry (Iraq & Afghanistan come to mind). Why would I trust 300,000 and growing other citizens.


More than a third of Americans believe in UFO's. There are a lot of nuts - always have been. That's not news. Relax.


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## Bjorn (May 2, 2010)

Apatheticviews said:


> It will be tough.. they dismantled the US Space program....


Don't worry old bean, there's still the Russians, and they take Amex


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## Apatheticviews (Mar 21, 2010)

CuffDaddy said:


> More than a third of Americans believe in UFO's. There are a lot of nuts - always have been. That's not news. Relax.


Believing in "UFOs" isn't really a problem. Believing they would come to this backwater planet however......


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## mrkleen (Sep 21, 2007)

Shaver said:


> Some of those guys in the Idaho mountains wouldn't even notice. :icon_smile_wink:


Well said.


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## VictorRomeo (Sep 11, 2009)

Bjorn said:


> Don't worry old bean, there's still the Russians, and they take Amex


Skin colour is a good match too, by and large, so they'll fit right in.... Now if they could only do something about those pesky socialist values.....


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## CuffDaddy (Feb 26, 2009)

Apatheticviews said:


> It would get rid of a lot of lawyers...


Nah, we'd just go back to our roots and actually bite people in the neck after dark.


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## Apatheticviews (Mar 21, 2010)

And Maryland enters the fray!


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## CuffDaddy (Feb 26, 2009)

??? I'm sure yahoos from all 50 states will eventually do this. Who cares?


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## pleasehelp (Sep 8, 2005)

Didn't this same thing occur in 2004 and 2008? I strongly suspect that it will happen in 2016 too (regardless of who our next president is). The internet has helped organize like-minded people to accomplish this sort of thing, and I think it will become more and more commonplace. 

People do these sorts of things for many reasons, one of which is to try to convey a message to political leaders that those leaders do not have a mandate of the masses.


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## CuffDaddy (Feb 26, 2009)

Hilarious counter-petition: https://blogs.ajc.com/jay-bookman-blog/2012/11/15/secession-mania-reaches-the-city-of-atlanta/


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## TSWalker (Nov 2, 2011)

CuffDaddy said:


> Hilarious counter-petition: https://blogs.ajc.com/jay-bookman-blog/2012/11/15/secession-mania-reaches-the-city-of-atlanta/


Atlanta hasn't been part of Georgia since Sherman left. The author must have misspelled Austin.


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## CuffDaddy (Feb 26, 2009)

Old joke: 
Q: What's the best thing about Atlanta?
A: It's only 30 minutes away from the south. 

Ba-dum-BAP!


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## VictorRomeo (Sep 11, 2009)

This is really funny.....


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