MagGnome
02-25-2011, 12:13 AM
I found this article and the accompanying video to be very interesting.
TUCSON, Ariz. -- It's the ultimate protest against actions by the Arizona legislature. Secession.
Not from the United States, but from Arizona, making Pima County a separate state.
Over the last couple years, Arizona Governor Jan Brewer and State Senate President Russell Pearce have said some things and passed some bills that have made national headlines. To those on the other side of the political aisle, that's not a good thing.
"We're tired of the extremism that's been portrayed to the rest of the country. and we feel we're different down here," said Paul Eckerstrom.
"We're tired of being last in education funding," said Eckerstrom. "We're tired of our tax money disappearing into Maricopa County with very little benefit coming back."
Although it likely won't go anywhere, I thought this was an interesting move and an issue that might spark some good discussion.
I know there was a little talk years ago about splitting Washington state in two, with Seattle/Tacoma essentially becoming one state and the other, more rural areas another. I've personally thought about what would happen if a similar movement started in Minnesota. The Twin Cities are often hampered by "Greater Minnesota", with a state legislature made up in great part by representatives from other, more rural communities throughout the state who constantly argue against state funding for programs and projects that would benefit the Cities, such as more public transportation. These Reps also fight against social justice issues such as equal treatment for gays and lesbians. All this despite the majority of the state's tax dollars coming from the Cities.
Hopefully the above paragraph never comes back to bite me in the ass. I certainly won't be running for national office anytime soon. :p
TUCSON, Ariz. -- It's the ultimate protest against actions by the Arizona legislature. Secession.
Not from the United States, but from Arizona, making Pima County a separate state.
Over the last couple years, Arizona Governor Jan Brewer and State Senate President Russell Pearce have said some things and passed some bills that have made national headlines. To those on the other side of the political aisle, that's not a good thing.
"We're tired of the extremism that's been portrayed to the rest of the country. and we feel we're different down here," said Paul Eckerstrom.
"We're tired of being last in education funding," said Eckerstrom. "We're tired of our tax money disappearing into Maricopa County with very little benefit coming back."
Although it likely won't go anywhere, I thought this was an interesting move and an issue that might spark some good discussion.
I know there was a little talk years ago about splitting Washington state in two, with Seattle/Tacoma essentially becoming one state and the other, more rural areas another. I've personally thought about what would happen if a similar movement started in Minnesota. The Twin Cities are often hampered by "Greater Minnesota", with a state legislature made up in great part by representatives from other, more rural communities throughout the state who constantly argue against state funding for programs and projects that would benefit the Cities, such as more public transportation. These Reps also fight against social justice issues such as equal treatment for gays and lesbians. All this despite the majority of the state's tax dollars coming from the Cities.
Hopefully the above paragraph never comes back to bite me in the ass. I certainly won't be running for national office anytime soon. :p