SVR's guru Thomas Naylor had an op-ed in the Burlington Free Press today. Interesting thing is, the raving lunatic we've heard from lately is nowhere to be seen. It' s his typical shtick on why we need secession, nothing in it that I really disagree with, to be honest. But he asks a vital question that cannot go unanswered...
Is it possible that out of the ashes of the first Vermont Republic a Second Vermont Republic might emerge?Not any one with you or your Neo-Confederate buddies steering that ship, buddy. Maybe it's time for someone to form the 'New Second Vermont Republic', or the 'Confederacy-free Second Vermont Republic'. That funeral ceremony you had over the weekend? It was yours, pal.
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So I'm at the dentist, having my teeth scraped, and I'm holding up my newspaper reading this junk on the op-ed page. Perfect timing for a Naylor piece, right?
There is a lot wrong with America...A LOT! But it must be a half-way decent "empire" as far as Empire's go if a state's largest daily feels free to donate a quarter page of type to this kind of drivel.
In fact, as I thought about your worst nightmare- a bunch of Nutballs Dress as Green Mountain Boys coming to get you – I conjured up the old cartoon of Ethan Allen arresting the British Commander at Fort Ticonderoga…It got me thinking about Naylor and just how wrong he is.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Ticondsurrender.jpg
As I recall, Vermont’s Agenda was ALWAYS to join the United States…just not to be annexed by New York or New Hampshire. Allen himself made the Ticonderoga arrest in the name of God and the Continental Congress…not in the name of the people of Vermont.
An of course, during the Civil War, (which Naylor and his Confederate Buddies think of as Lincoln’s Empire-Establishing coup) Vermonters were more than there every step of the way.
From Wikipedia: More than 28,100 Vermonters served in Vermont volunteer units. Vermont fielded 17 infantry regiments, 1 cavalry regiment, 3 light artillery batteries, 1 heavy artillery company, 3 companies of sharpshooters, and 2 companies of frontier cavalry. Instead of replacing units as they were depleted, Vermont regularly provided recruits to bring the units in the field back up to normal strength.
Nearly 5,000 others served in other states' units, in the United States Army or the United States Navy. The 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry included 66 Vermont blacks; a total of 166 black Vermonters served out of a population of 709 in the state.
Vermonters suffered a total of 1,832 men killed or mortally wounded in battle; another 3,362 died of disease, in prison or from other causes, for a total loss of 5,194. More than 2,200 Vermonters were taken prisoner during the war, and 615 of them died in or as a result of their imprisonment.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vermont_in_the_American_Civil_War
When deciding weighty questions, there are many things to be taken into consideration.)
History is only one such consideration.
In this case, we are America’s role in the world, and our response as citizens to that role. Secession is certainly one option (personally, I think it a very foolish one) , but it is NOT the option that our Vermont forebears chose. In fact, Vermont’s did Full Duty again and again to make sure that the Union of States was establish, promoted, and protected.
I resent Naylor’s disingenuous attempt to portray it otherwise….it is yet one more example of his attempts to bend facts to fit his imagination.
Instead, I hope that we, as American’s continue to work together to build an ever more perfect union…and that we continue to fight to secure the blessings of liberty for all of our people…
I dropped by this afternoon during lunch to make sure you had seen this latest dose of claptrap from Naylor...but you were ON THE CASE!
First Class, Blogger, first class.
Thanks for the bit of history Alex. Actually, what you're saying regarding the myths behind VT independence is exactly what Paul Gillies, the guy who's debating SVR's Frank Bryan at UVM this week (Mar 7th) is saying. I've had a few conversations with him about it. If you end up going to it, please do a post on GMD about it.
I'm actually pro-secession. I've long believed that America is too damn big, and I don't really like being in the same country as the Bible Belt, it's embarrassing. But regardless of how we feel about it, we can both agree that if a movement actually takes hod in VT, it ain't gonna be Thomas Naylor at the helm.
Thanks for stopping by.
It's funny that you just mentioned Frank Bryan. I mentioned him on my blog today (in a good way). I love Bryan. I had him for a Poli Sci class at UVM.
charity said:
"I love Bryan. I had him for a Poli Sci class at UVM."
BG:
do you think he is a racist?
he is a republican...
Uh, BG.. Charity is a Repub, too. Does that mean she's a racist? I know where you're getting at, because the GOP most definitely stands for Guardians Of Privlege, and yes, it is the party of choice for many mainstream racists. But Jeez....
You know, considering that SVR is pretty much kaput now, don't you think you could contribute to the discussions around here in better ways? Knowing who you are (in real life), I see that you probably have a lot more in common with us than not, especially me.
Instead you seem to want to be known as 'Naylor's last friend' or something. It's a 'lost cause', just like that Confederate thing. When you gonna come around to that fact? Wiliams is gone. Riversong, gone. McKibben has pulled his stuff. Bread and Puppet... gone. GMAC gone. So what are we down to now, you, Naylor, and that crazy wingnut who thinks we're all COINTELPRO? C'mon man. You're a smart guy. You could even make some friends around here. Unlike the FSP, I don't have a problem with much of what the Democratic Freedom Council stands for. SVR is toast, and there's nobody but themselves to blame. Get over it. Move on.
JD- That might be fun...do you have details on when the debate is going to be? I wouldn't mind sitting through it.
On Wednesday night, March 7 at 7:00 p.m., Frank Bryan will return to the debating platform at the UVM Campus Center Theater.
He's debating former Deputy Sec. of State Paul Gilles. Let me know how it goes.
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